Shrouds Of Darkness
by JayDog75
Summary: A sequel to Darkest Before The Dawn. Rick, Lisa, and the rest of Macross Command find themselves dealing with a major threat close to home that threatens to plunge Earth into another Civil War while another thought to be defeated lurks in the shadows. Rated M for language, intense action scenes, and some implied bedtime activities.
1. Ch 1 - Exit Night, Enter Light

**_**New Author's Note (3/17/18)**_ \- ** After a longer than planned hiatus due to work constraints and my muse pretty much going on strike for the past 6+ months, I am back to resume this one. However, when reading over what I had written in the original, I decided the only true justice I could do here was to bin what I had posted back in July and start fresh. For the most part, some of the chapters are getting major revamps as, when I read things over, I really didn't like the way things were going originally.

As it is, this is the sequel to _**Darkest Before The Dawn**_. Pretty much, it goes along the same way as that story did (thoughts and foreign words in italics, points of emphasis in bold).

Of course, it goes without saying that Robotech is the property of Sony, Harmony Gold, Studio Nue, and Tatsunoko. I don't own any of the original characters. Just borrowing them for a bit.

* * *

 ** **SHROUDS OF DARKNESS  
**** _ ** _ **A Robotech/Macross AU**_**_

 ** **Chapter One – Exit Night, Enter Light****

 _ _Two weeks after the Last Ride...__

As the Earth found itself healing over the past three years since the attack of Dolza and the Zentraedi forces, there were many things that could have gone in a different direction that would have made the already massive task that much harder for the inhabitants of the planet. As the defeated fleet crash landed across the continents, it was by chance that one particular ship would come down in an isolated part of the Rocky Mountains on the North American continent.

On this day, the sun began its inevitable climb up the sky and rose over the eastern edge of the vast mountainous region, activity among the many birds and animals that called the rugged terrain began anew, announced with the sounds of life going on. Prior to the attack, the area had been home to a rather well known UEG Planetary Park.

There was one spot in the forest where the trees and plants appeared to be running in a haphazard pattern. As it was in a very inaccessible area, it was something that went overlooked by the humans striving to reclaim their world. Also, as it was a mountainous area, the undulations in the terrain could have been written off by simple plate tectonic theory. However, if they did get a chance to look closer, they would have been very surprised and very dismayed at what was the cause of this remarkable anomaly in the terrain.

Upon much closer inspection, it was something that would have terrified any of the Earth's population as it was a Zentraedi cruiser. This cruiser had a bit of a history and would have caused outright panic in those that called the planet home much more if they had discovered what particular Zentraedi commander called the ship home.

In the Tirolian language used by the giant aliens, the ship was known as the __Dulia Dennay__ , the "Divine Strength". To the pilots of the RDF, the mighty ship was known as "The Asylum", as it was the personal flagship of their most ardent and unbalanced foe, Khyron the Backstabber. Outside of the ship, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary as the activities of the mountain region's residents continued unabated around the misshapen craft.

Inside, however, was a different matter entirely.

* * *

A skeleton crew manned the communications arrays and scanners, keeping an eye out to see if the Micronians would finally discover their secret and attack in full force. For most of the past three years, this vigil had been a rather routine one, with the techs adapting to the heightened level of organic life around them. There had been more on the ship up until a few weeks prior as their commander had planned an audacious raid to catch the Micronians unaware.

That, as they watched, ended in abject failure due to the actions of the RDF, and Skull Squadron in particular. Among the RDF and Micronians, the thought was with the elimination of Khyron and Azonia in that raid, the threat from those Zentraedi that sided with Khyron would lessen without their commander being in the picture.

This thought would have been one that the loyalists on the craft would have scoffed at, especially those that knew of some of the precautions their commander took on a regular basis. And it was the Regeneration Center that most of the focus was on for those precautions.

The Regeneration Center was a collection of tubes where clones of the forces stationed on the ship could be regrown in rapid fashion or repair grave injuries rapidly through the power of Protoculture. Combined with the abilities developed through the years of being able to take, in essence, an image of the memories and knowledge acquired by a warrior and insert into the consciousness of a cloned copy, it gave the Zentraedi a very big edge in the ability to bounce back from casualty rates that would have crippled any other army in the universe. However, it also led to the decline in actual strategic military thought among the warriors as their commanders came to rely on the ability to regrow warriors that could be just thrown back into battle just as quickly as they were destroyed.

Manning one of the control panels inside of the vast room was Khyron's personal Regen Tech, Jeggo. Gazing over the room and rechecking the readings on three, he smiled. __Everything is just about all set,__ he thought as he re-checked some of the data that was pouring in from the file in front. __It's just a start, but if some things go our way in the near future, these damned Micronians would find out quickly what we're capable of.__ Pulling up two of the files, he quickly scrolled through files and moved them to another location. As he looked a bit further, he noticed the third one was reporting an error, causing a scowl to come across his face.

 _ _Blast it,__ he thought. __The last upload was corrupted. Probably due to an unexpected termination of the file during the transfer here. That's why I always tell anyone of importance that they do a quick capture before they depart for this exact reason. I'll have to hold off on this one until I get further orders.__

Two time bars came up on the screen and began filling in as data appeared to be moving over.

Jeggo sighed as he looked over things a bit closer. __We've relied on regenerating ourselves for far too long. Most often, those in command would just throw everything at an attacking force without as much as a thought against that idea. It worked most of the time, but it also made a commander like Breetai that much more effective. He was always cautious with his forces and gave his plans a lot of thought before going forward.__ Jeggo had once brought this line of thought up to Khyron, who dismissed it with a callous response about the battle experience of Regeneration techs.

A bluish light came over the console, indicating that the data transfer he had started had fully completed. Seeing the results, Jeggo smiled and tapped on another button. This time, it brought up a communications screen. The face of another Zentraedi in full uniform came up.

"Yes, Jeggo?" came the response from the screen.

"Ah, Commander Nadtal. I can report that two of the exports have completed successfully. We should be ready to proceed. However, there was a problem with the third export." Jeggo's reaction told the story well before he reported the news. "It appeared to be corrupted."

A frown came across Nadtal's face. "Please tell me it wasn't for the primary."

A nod came back from Jeggo. "Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. And I even told him that a quick image before going forward was the best course of action. Naturally, it wasn't listened to. It would have saved us a lot of trouble."

 _ _Damned luck,__ Nadtal thought as he processed the news. __Hopefully we can reach out before the departure. Otherwise, I'll have to make the decision to proceed without the key part, and I doubt that would go over well.__ Taking a deep breath, he straightened up and nodded. "I'll be on my way down shortly. At least we have two to work with. As for the other, I guess we will have to make contact to see how to proceed."

"Acknowledged. I'll start the waking up process on the complete ones."

The screen blinked for a second, then went dead. Jeggo then brought up the console to the two files connected with the completed time bars and clicked on another button. Two of the tubes lit up and began to vent steam as a countdown began on the console.

* * *

 _ _Darkness. Total, complete darkness...__

The bleak nothingness started to fade away in the being's consciousness.

 _ _What is this? I feel like I'm floating.__

Vision returned in the form of hazy images in varying degrees of brightness and dark.

 _ _What is this place? Why does it seem so familiar?__

The next sense to return was hearing as the being began to make out sounds around the location.

One voice, one the being could not pin down, but recognized almost immediately, spoke. "Nadtal, come quickly. Regen Pod Delta Charlie Eight is ready. One of our subjects has regained consciousness."

 _ _That voice. I've heard that particular being before...__

It was then that the clone realized where they were and what had happened.

 _ _Regeneration Center. This can only mean...__

A second voice spoke out quickly. "Welcome back." The clone figured that this voice belonged to the one called Nadtal.

The newly awakened clone coughed as it attempted to clear some of the excess fluid from its mouth and lungs. In a very scratchy voice, the clone finally spoke to the two forms in front of it.

"Where am I?"

"You're on board the __Dulia Dennay,__ deep within the quadrant the Micronians call Wyoming," Jeggo stated evenly.

"How long have I been...?"

"Dead? About six weeks," Jeggo informed his guest. "We would have brought you back sooner, but our Protoculture reserves are starting to become critical. We may not be able to bring you back at all if this happens again, good image or not."

The clone shook his head. "The last thing I remember is one of the Micronians, the Death Bringer, shot me in that mess hall and I tried to explain what happened to Lord Khyron." The clone shook its head and reached for a towel to dry off from the nutrient-rich solution that was in the tube. "I do not think I got too far in my explanation before I expired."

Nadtal spoke to the clone. "Well, Xamdar, let me bring you up to speed on what has transpired since your untimely demise. Lord Khyron attacked the Micronians and lost as well, despite destroying their new flagship. Zor's Flagship still remains in the hands of the Micronians, but it appears to have taken massive damage and will probably never be back in operation again. At least that's what the spies tell us in their reports. For the most part, our operatives have gone underground and are awaiting their next orders."

Xamdar nodded. "I wish to return to the Micronian cities and rally our forces there. The Micronians have quite a few matrices about."

"That, unfortunately, is not up to me, old friend. There is someone we will need to talk to about what our next steps will be. Come."

Xamdar followed the others towards the exit to the Regeneration Center. They were joined by a fourth, who's last memories were of the major fighting that happened during Khyron's attack and of getting blasted out the sky by a lone Veritech. As they exited the room, the only thoughts that the four entertained were that of revenge.

* * *

The four assembled in a smaller room with a large viewscreen dominating one of the walls. Punching in a well rehearsed code, Nadtal activated the communications system. A loud whistle came over as the viewscreen came to life. On the screen, the four saw a menacing form in a Zentraedi uniform. The purple complexion and white hair was a dead giveaway as to who was the recipient of the call. The four came to their feet and saluted with their fists over their hearts.

"Jeggo, your work is impressive, as always," Khyron stated with a smile. A nod from the Regeneration tech followed the compliment.

He turned his gaze to one of the newly cloned Zentraedi sitting before him in the room. "Magdar, it is a pleasure to see you back."

"Indeed, my Lord," the pilot responded. He thought for a second and then gave voice to the thoughts. "My Lord, if you are still living, how did you lose to the Micronians? I thought the plan was to either capture Zor's flagship or be destroyed in the process."

Khyron smirked as he thought of how to best answer the question. "Well, my friend, I always plan for these kind of circumstances and events. I activated one of my clones I had in place on Azonia's ship and that clone took command that day. The Micronians think I exist no more, but as you can see, that's plainly not the case."

"An excellent plan, my Lord," Magdar commented.

"Of course it was! I thought of it."

Khyron nodded for a second and then continued. "Magdar, your orders are to get off that primitive mudball and join our forces by the 6th planet of this miserable backwater. Azonia and Grel are there and will brief you on what your next assignment will be. More than likely, our resupply asteroid is in need of a very good and ruthless commander for the pod squadrons that are housed there. There is a __quiltra queleual'__ with a cloaking device down in the landing bays. You can use that to evade the Micronians and that traitor Breetai. Once clear of the rock that these primates call a moon, you should be clear to fold back to the ships. I have beamed the coordinates to the craft."

"As you command, my Lord!"

Magdar then rose from his seat and made his way towards the door and out of the room with a salute to the screen. The salute was returned in kind by Khyron as the pilot left to rejoin the off-planet forces at his disposal.

Khyron then turned his gaze towards the other newly respawned warrior.

"As for you, Xamdar. Why I even brought you back is a mystery even to myself, especially after the way you bungled that whole Sorceress affair."

"My Lord," Xamdar stammered. "I can explain. It was all she would go on about for most of the time I was in her employ. What I didn't catch was that Hunter drifted in another direction. And from I was able to observe, it caught the Sorceress by surprise as well."

A hard look from Khyron cut him off.

"No matter. That was the past. As much as I'd like to punish you for failing, I'm not about to waste a perfectly good clone as Jeggo has told me of the current state of affairs with the supplies on the ship. Besides, Hunter did my dirty work for me after that botched hostage taking at that restaurant."

Xamdar bristled at the mention of the failed operation at the Micronian dining hall. It was something that Khyron picked up and smiled as he noticed.

"Seems, as our opponents would say, I hit a nerve there, Xamdar. You want revenge on Hunter, don't you?"

Xamdar nodded. "I wish to burn him from the sky, my Lord. Him and that foolish woman he decided to make his companion."

"I do as well. Hunter, Hayes, Gloval, that traitor Parino. All of them will suffer greatly for making a fool of me and the Zentraedi. Nadtal told me you wished to return to the Micronians and finish what you started. That request is granted, but with a condition. You will have another with you to keep an eye on things and make sure you do not make a mess of this operation like the last time."

Khyron looked over the room on the screen in front of him and noticed something.

"Jeggo, there's one clone missing. The most important one. Care to explain?"

"My Lord," Jeggo responded. "There was an issue with the memory image. It was corrupted at about 50% This may have been due to a possible unexpected interruption of the transmission. We had to abort."

"What?" The look on Khyron's face became dark and ominous. "Jeggo, when I give an order, I expect it to be completed. This will not do. Use one of the older images on file to complete the download."

"But, my Lord, combining memory images from two different points can cause some potential complications, such as an unpredictable personality among other things. However, as a number of the images have been corrupted one way or another, there may not be an option to ignore this risky practice. Combining that with the depletion of the Protoculture on the ship, we may not be able to utilize the Regeneration Center for much longer."

"This is unexpected, but orders are orders. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Good. Go back to the Regeneration Center and bring the third member of our party back."

Jeggo turned and left the room, dreading what could potentially happen.

* * *

Back in the Regeneration Center, Jeggo stood at the console and scanned through the files for Khyron's image scans. __Ugh, none of the more recent ones are usable,__ he thought as he looked through. __Going to have to go back further.__ After a frantic search, Jeggo's disposition lit up as he found a usable file.

 _ _It's older, but it should work.__ Checking the timestamp on the file, he winced. __This date is back a lot further than I would have allowed. Anything beyond this point is about the same is just awakening the clone on its own and letting it process. It would also throw things off because it would need full training in the military arts. And time is a luxury we no longer have.__

 _ _The last time anyone attempted a blending on the scans, we got the most recent version of Khyron,__ Jeggo thought as he looked over everything one last time. __As unpredictable as he is now, I cannot imagine how much worse this could be. But, as he said, orders are orders.__

Muttering a long used Zentraedi prayer to the gods of healing, Jeggo tapped the button to begin the download to the clone.

* * *

About one hour later, Jeggo returned to the room with another clone. This clone sat in the room with a cloak over its head, silently observing the proceedings going on before it.

Khyron smiled as he saw Jeggo return.

"I assume everything went well?"

"It went about as well as it could have. I had to use an older scan. One that was nearly five standard years old."

Khyron looked puzzled at this news. "That far back? Are there any adverse effects?"

"Anything beyond this one scan and we would have been set back further getting the clone up to speed and would have to re-train it in every aspect of our military arts. Time, as you mentioned, is not exactly one of our key luxuries at the moment. I was able to blend the two scans as requested, as much as my training and some of the documentation from the others stated that this should not be done. However, I am stressing greatly that the risks of blending the scans are very real and should be monitored as we don't want to have anything untoward happen to our new friend."

"So noted, Jeggo," Khyron responded with an air of dismissal. __So this one could be a little__ __imbalanced,__ he thought. _ _Setting him loose on the Micronians would be entertaining to watch. Pity I won't be here to see it.__ With that he turned to the hooded clone in the room.

"You can take the hood off now, friend."

The clone pulled the hood back, showing his face to the others in the room and Khyron on the viewscreen. A gasp went up from the Nadtal and Xamdar. Khyron broke into a smile. The clone had the same purple skin and white hair as Khyron and virtually the same facial features. Some slight differences were in place per orders to help hide the identity of the source genetic material. Most notably, the eyes were a different color than the current version of Khyron. Instead of a bright blue, the new clone's eyes were a startling shade of purple.

"It's like looking into a mirror! Good job, Jeggo." Turning his attention to the clone. "Clone, you will be known as Quazmin, for there is only one Khyron. Nothing personal, but it will make for less confusion."

"Understood, my Lord," the newly named Quazmin answered. "Your orders?"

"You will go with Xamdar to the Micronian cities and meet with our operatives there. You will be my eyes and ears there. Report back to Azonia and Grel with whatever information Xamdar and our friends can gather. Also, take some time to learn the Micronian ways. You will need to blend in. However, looking like me may make that a challenge. I do have a bit of a...reputation among them."

"As you command," Quazmin responded.

Khyron continued. "Yes, Xamdar, Quazmin is the condition I have granted to your request to return. He will need some mentoring in the ways of the Micronians. I expect you to be a very good teacher. Once you are Micronized, I have arranged for a transport to take you to the outskirts of New Macross. From there, you will meet up with your old comrade Pyoto and continue where you left off. For now, you will be gathering information on our enemies and reporting back with any activity that seems fit. You also are ordered ****not**** to engage the Micronians as of yet. We shall bide our time and wait for the opportunity."

"As you command, my Lord," came the response from Xamdar.

Khyron's demeanor turned dark and a scowl came across his face as he prepared to continue.

"If you fail or do not heed my orders, Pyoto has orders to kill you on the spot. He may be a friend, but ultimately, his loyalty is to me. Besides, I recall you put aside friendships during the failed attempts a few months ago. Be happy I did not bring Chondo or Thoda back. I doubt they'd be happy to see you after what happened in New Macross."

Xamdar winced as this was brought up. Khyron barely noticed as he continued on.

"You failed me once before. It is very rare that I show mercy towards anyone that fails me, but you are probably our best expert on what those vermin do and act, so you had better make sure Quazmin can blend in without any problems. Fail me again and there won't be a third chance. On that, I can guarantee that will come to pass.. Am I clear?"

"Yes, my Lord," a chastened Xamdar responded. Turning to Quazmin, Xamdar motioned towards the door. The two turned and saluted to Khyron as they left.

"Now, Nadtal, about your mission. I will need you to micronize as well. However, you'll be going a bit farther than the others."

"I'm not to stay nearby?"

"Indeed. We need to rally the troops down in the area where Azonia's ship was as there are a number of Micronized Zentraedi in those quadrants. Enough to potentially cause some serious chaos for the Micronians."

A map came up on the viewscreen showing the South American continent and a few red dots denoting some of the more major settlements. Nadtal nodded in understanding as he began to see what Khyron had in mind.

"Their forces there are much weaker than in New Macross or even Monument. We proved that when you made your way towards Zor's Flagship," Nadtal added. "Plus, there's an issue of some perceived ill treatment our people have received from the Micronians in that part of the world if the rumors are true. It is something we may be able to exploit as time goes along."

"It was something I was counting on. Your orders are the same as I gave the others. Infiltrate the Micronian cities there and begin organizing. Once you are ready, contact the ship. I will instruct Fiago as to what our plan will be and we will go from there."

"As you command, my Lord," Nadtal stated. "What are your plans, my Lord, if I may ask?"

"I will be folding out of the system shortly. I have an important meeting with the Masters. When I return, I highly doubt I will be returning alone."

"The only other sizable fleet we have left is..."

Khyron cut off the other surprised Zentraedi. "That is what I aim to bring back. We can destroy these annoying little bugs and turn that mudball into a floating cinder with as much life as that pebble they call a moon. Once we have won here, we would then refocus on those parasites without losing our advantage. Plus, with the matrices the Micronians have managed to steal, we would have enough Protoculture to exterminate the Invid upon returning."

Nadtal stood and saluted. "I wish you all the success. May the Masters listen to reason."

"Thank you. I shall return, and with more firepower than these insects will be able to deal with."

With that, the screen in the room went black. Nadtal stood up and made his way out of the door, with Jeggo following closely behind.

* * *

Orbiting Jupiter, Khyron looked out from the bridge at the ringed planet and its myriad of moons. __This is close to where I first ran into these damned Micronians.__ A shudder came across as he thought back to that first encounter. __It was also the first time I ever tasted defeat. That is something I fully intend to right when I get back from meeting the__ __Masters.__

Tapping one of the buttons on the console, a communications screen came to life with the image of Azonia and Grel in front.

"I have just talked to our colleagues back on the Micronian planet. Things are coming to fruition. The new clones have been activated."

Azonia was the first to respond. "And remind me why you brought Xamdar back from the void? He was a spectacular failure with his 'insights' into the Micronians."

Khyron looked back at the screen with an equal measure of annoyance and anger towards his counterpart.

"As clumsy as he is, he still is our best resource for their disgusting culture. However, I have two measures of insurance in place. First, I have let his comrade Pyoto know he is to kill him immediately if he so much as blunders again. The second is something I thought of. Namely, I activated Operation Quazmin."

Azonia shook her head. "You do realize you are pretty recognizable, Khyron. A Micronized version of you is not going to sit well with the Micronians."

"It's also the last thing they'll expect. I have them heading back to Macross to keep an eye on our friends. Xamdar did express some disdain for the Micronian that earned him a trip to the tubes. Given that incentive, he may not bungle things."

Grel stepped forward. "And our orders?"

"Go to the resupply asteroid and get our forces in order, as I feel Yuzgo has been a bit lax with the men. I also sent an old friend up to you as well. Magdar will be there to get the pod forces in shape.

Azonia shook her head. "Why the asteroid? With the damage we dealt them in that last battle, we've got a good chance of defeating the Micronians."

A sharp look came back in response. "I suspect Breetai and Exedore may mention this to the Micronians sooner rather than later. It would be a benefit for them if they want to rebuild Zor's Flagship or try to copy it again."

Azonia and Grel nodded at this point. Khyron, not even bothering to acknowledge his counterparts, continued on.

"Also, keep in mind they have the bulk of Breetai's fleet with them as well. And you've seen our numbers here. We would be annihilated as soon as we came out of fold. However, we wouldn't want to just hand over a resource as valuable as the asteroid to the traitor and the little insects he decided to throw in with without making them earn it."

Khyron smiled as he continued.

"Still, the odds would be in our favor if I bring the rest of the fleet back with me after seeing the Masters. I shall be departing within the hour. Await my signal before we proceed."

Both saluted as the screen went dark.

 _ _My revenge is coming,__ he thought. _ _And no being will be able to stop me.__

* * *

The calm of the grasslands was broken by the high whining of engines as three non-descript craft took off from one of the exposed landing bays on the crashed ship. One of the transports climbed skyward rapidly, as if it was trying to break out of the grasp of Earth's gravity. A second craft angled to the north and west and climbed rapidly, but not at the rate of the first. One final craft went at the same rate as the second, but in a direction due south of where the ship was.

This was all taken in by Jeggo on one of the forward observation decks. Standing along side the Regeneration tech was one of his assistants from the center. The second tech, who went by the name Bereo, watched as the ships disappeared into the horizon.

"Does Lord Khyron know they've departed?"

"He gave the order himself before leaving to meet with the Masters."

Bereo's eyes widened. "He will probably be gone for at least one Micronian year. Do the others know when they're to start?"

"About a few standard months."

"That should give us some time to get the tubes repaired. Hopefully the forces out there can get us another Matrix." Bereo shook his head as he put his next thought into words.

"I doubt we're going to have enough Protoculture to keep the clones or the Regeneration Center going."

"That concerns me. I did let Lord Khyron about this, but he kind of dismissed it. Still, we might as well prepare. Go ahead. I won't be much longer."

Bereo saluted quickly and left.

 _ _I will need all the time I can to get things ready if another attack is to happen. I may see if we can create a smaller version of the clone tubes for Micronian sized clones. The only need about one tenth of the Protoculture as our full sized ones, which would help in regards to our resources, but renders our equipment useless. However, I do not see that being an idea Lord Khyron or Lady Azonia agreeing to.__

Knowing what this meant, Jeggo sighed.

 _ _It means if Lord Khyron fails again, we are doomed to end up like these "dinosaurs" the Micronians go on about. That Micronian I read of in the archives was right. It is survival of the fittest. And we may not be the fittest this time around.__

* * *

 ** _Original A/N -_** _Have to give two major hat tips here. The first goes to Dimensional Phaser's **Zentraedi (Tirolian) to English** fic. Not a bad resource and one I took advantage of, especially when naming Khyron's old ship. The second hat tip is a large one regarding a plot device. I saw that theGhostflyer used the idea of instant cloning with the "consciousness image export" for the Zents in his epic, **Mars Alight**. It was too good of an idea to not use and also explains why the Zents had oodles of pilots and ground pounders out there._


	2. Ch 2 - Pulling The Strings

****Chapter Two – Pulling The Strings****

 _ _Two Weeks Later__

On the North American continent, there were two cities that dominated most of the news cycles since the attack by Dolza's fleet three years prior. The first, New Macross City, became known as the home of the Robotech Defense Force with the presence of Macross Command and the SDF-1. The Malcontent Zentraedi forces, for the most part, focused most of their attacks there as they looked to eliminate the group that left them on Earth and also potentially capture the SDF-1 in the process.

However, about 200 kilometers away to the East, was another just as equally important target for any invading force. Monument City sat in a valley between a ridge of mountains that was created by the attack three years prior, as it was built over the site of a destroyed RDF base. The valley in of itself was more of a crater than a valley, but this also afforded the city a measure of protection going forward as access was limited to a small pass. Naturally, the UEG decided this would be a suitable location for its new capital city. The entire city was completed within the space of a year, giving the surviving members of the Supreme Council and Senate a new location to call home after the terrible events.

Dominating the skyline of the city was the new Government Center, which served as the main headquarters for the United Earth Government. The two largest rooms in the building were the Senate Hall, where the Senate met, and the Council Hall, where the Supreme Council sat. Offices and conference rooms spread out through the large building for more intimate meetings that affected how the day to day operations of the global government were to transpire.

It was in one of these rooms where a somewhat momentous meeting was about to transpire.

Sitting at the table was a short, squat man in a dark blue business suit and tie to match. In front of him was a dossier that he was intently reviewing as he kept an eye on the clock on the viewscreen that dominated the wall. Shaking his head, he looked up from the files and sighed.

 _ _So, they're actually serious about going ahead with this again? My uncle was right, this damned alien technology is nothing but trouble. He always said he should have fought against this harder when that monstrosity arrived.__

Senator Ulysses Russo was not exactly pleased with having to be in the upcoming briefing about the RDF's request to go ahead with a new SDF to replace the one that was destroyed just about six weeks prior. The Senator, who was the nephew of Senator Alphonso Russo, had been named to his late uncle's seat after the end of the attack by Dolza's fleet. Representing the quadrant that was home to New Chicago, Russo intended on making sure his quadrant was put above anyone else. Also, much like his uncle, he also intended to put his interests above anyone else as well, especially in a financial bearing.

 _ _I don't see why this is needed,__ he thought as he gazed over the report. __It's not like Gloval is going to be in favor of sending any of the work for this over to my constituents. Especially as long as Donnie's brat has got his ear.__ A frown came across the Senator's face as he thought of the man that virtually destroyed his uncle's career right before the attack. It had turned out that the elder Senator Russo was skimming RDF funds from some lucrative defense deals for years. It was only when Admiral Donald Hayes's daughter, who was a Captain in the RDF, caught wind of what was going on, informed the Admiral. That led to Alphonso's downfall and expulsion from the Council right before the attack.

 _ _It would have been impeachment for Uncle Al as well too, but I guess I should thank Dolza for attacking when he did. Kind of tough to have an impeachment trial when a good number of the Senate, the main witness, and the subject are all dead.__

A smirk came across Russo's face as he thought of what happened next.

 _ _At least I got a slight measure of revenge when Gloval submitted that promotion for that bitch,__ he mused. A recent round of promotions had been submitted from Macross to Monument for final approval, with the most prominent being that of Captain Lisa Hayes being promoted to Rear Admiral. In his capacity as head of the Defense Committee, he had recommended to the Council that the promotion be to an alternate rank instead, that of Commodore. The reasoning given was that it was unwise to have two admirals on the same base. As Hayes would have been the head on the SDF-2, the promotion would have been a mere formality and any rejection would have looked suspicious. However, with the ship now destroyed, the rejection had some merit to any observer without any insights as to the history between Hayes and the Russo clan.

 _ _As much as I may not like her,__ Russo thought, __we did have to do something there. At least she was agreeable to the Commodore rank with the promise of full Admiral down the road.__

A sneer came across his face as he thought of the chances of that next promotion.

 _ _But, if I have my way, that will never happen. Not on my watch. If Gloval and Hayes think they're getting a green light to build this big waste of time, they have another thing coming, unless they play ball.__

Russo reached over for his glass of Scotch and raised it into the air.

 _ _Still, that big dumb bastard Khyron helped a bit on this by blowing up that monstrosity at Macross. Here's to ya, you crazy bastard. Hope you're not roasting too badly in whatever Hell you freaks believe in.__

As he was about to take a sip out of his glass, a slight buzz came over the intercom, pulling Russo out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Senator Russo," a tinny voice came over on the intercom. "I have Colonel Leonard on the other line."

"Patch him through."

 _ _Of course, my uncle also taught me to have a trump card ready at all times to even the odds,__ the Senator thought as the large screen that dominated the wall in front of his workstation came alive. On the screen was an older man in an RDF uniform, a scowl on his face and a cigarette dangling from his lip.

"Colonel, it's a pleasure as always."

"Wish I could say I was in a better mood, Senator," the Colonel barked back. "Is it true that Henry's going ahead with **__**another**__** one of these damn monstrosities?"

Russo held up the folder. "Have the paperwork right here, Anatole. I have a briefing with him and two of his underlings coming up tomorrow."

 _ _"Fecior de curva!__ I always thought all this alien __câcat__ was nothing but trouble when it arrived, and I think I've been proven correct. All it's brought us is near extinction."

 _ _Anatole's definitely upset, seeing he's cursing in his real native tongue,__ Russo thought. For years, Colonel Anatole Leonard had served with distinction with the Russian forces, much as Admiral Gloval had, during the Third Global Civil War. That much was true, but Leonard was a rarity in the Russian Army during the Civil War; a non-Russian among the higher ranks. However, there were rumors of some of Leonard's forebears participating in some less than savory actions in prior wars. Senator Russo had been able to pull some strings and had found the rumors had more than a grain of truth to them. __Besides, it's a great way to keep this guy under control. We wouldn't want__ _ ** _ **th**_**_ _ ** _ **ose**_**_ _ _little tidbit__ _ _s__ _ _getting out, would we, Anatole? At least it's led to a bit of an understanding between us as we both want the same things.__

Getting his focus back to the situation at hand, Senator Russo refocused himself.

"Look, Anatole. I'm not arguing with you on this. My uncle thought the same way as well. He fought against this abomination the first time it came around."

"He also was notorious for taking payoffs too, Ulysses. I may be a simple grunt, but I do pay attention to the news blasts. Plus, I never got to thank him for the defective SAMs one of his contractors supplied us with. Nearly got my ass blown to kingdom come after one of those rockets went wonky. In a way, I am kind of glad he got vaped when the big bastards came."

 _ _Well, well, well, you did your homework as well, Anatole,__ Russo thought with a sly grin. __Somehow, I think we can work together well before the knives come out.__

"Colonel, you wound me," Russo responded in a semi-mock hurt tone. "To think I would stoop to the same thing? I mean, I loved Uncle Al as much as any nephew would, but yes, there were some things he did that were a bit, um, unethical."

A laugh came over the videoscreen. "Unethical? What your uncle did, well, it would be like calling a Zentraedi tall. And if you're anything like your uncle, you're pretty much a chip off the block. My dad had a saying: __'__ The apple usually doesn't fall far from the tree.'"

Russo nodded. __Guy definitely did his homework.__

Leonard took another drag off of the cigarette and expelled the smoke. "Look, I don't trust you very much and you don't think very much of me outside of what I can do for you or enrich you somehow. However, we do have a common interest regarding this madness Gloval wishes to go forward with. This needs to be stopped."

"Well, I do appreciate the honesty, Colonel. And yes, I think from what it seems, we're on the same page here and have the same interests as you mentioned. I will do what I can to keep this from happening."

"And have you given thought to my proposal I submitted regarding how we go forward? The one called _Southern Cross_?"

Russo pulled up a second file he had nearby. Leafing through it, a broad smile came across his face.

"I do like it. It's a sound idea," Russo stated plainly. __Besides, I can make a freakin' killing on the kickbacks alone,__ he added silently. __Not only does it eliminate some of my enemies, it also could put someone I have some control over in charge of the RDF, and it will__ _ _potentially__ _ _end the Zent problem__ _ _on Earth__ _ _once and for all. Eat your heart out, Uncle Al!__

"With the right guidance and support," the Senator continued, "I don't think there will be much issue in getting this through the Senate and Council. That is, after we clean up some loose ends first."

A smile came across the Colonel's face. "Good. There is hope for Monument after all."

"I could say exactly the same about the RDF after this conversation, Colonel," Russo added with a smile. "I should go ahead and get ready to crush some dreams tomorrow when Gloval and the Macross Prom King and Queen call in regarding their ideas and this fantasy of other worldly beings wanting to kill us."

"Why Henry persists in having those two teenagers involved in this is beyond me," Leonard added with a bit of venom. "Besides, their conduct is totally unbecoming officers."

"Well, the Admiral and the Council seem to think otherwise regarding the conduct issue. But yes, they are a bit wet behind the ears to be playing with the adults. Don't worry though, Colonel. I'll cut them down to size."

Leonard nodded with a smile. "I wouldn't expect anything less, Senator. Also, did you and the council get a chance to review my other request?"

"Yes we did, Colonel. I don't see much of a problem with that. Not so sure how other parties are going to feel about it though."

"I expect some resistance to it, but if _Southern Cross_ is to go forward, I would need to be a bit more, _ahem_ , hands on with this."

The Senator nodded. "Oh well, it's not like they'd be totally lost without you there for the time being." _Getting out of dodge, eh Colonel? Smart idea if things look bad up here and you happen to be elsewhere._

"Seeing Zent activity's been quiet since that big bastard Khyron failed miserably, I think Macross Command may be a bit boring for a while."

"Well, consider your request granted. You may want to let the Admiral know, just as a courtesy."

Leonard laughed. "I'll let him know soon enough. Just keep your end of the bargain, Ulysses. We all are about to be in a much better situation sooner rather than later."

"Indeed, Colonel, indeed."

* * *

As the screen went black, Colonel Anatole Leonard sat back in his office and smiled. __Nice to see I'm being listened to in Monument for a change,__ he reflected. Reaching into his shirt pocket, Leonard pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Blowing the smoke out, he thought over the most recent conversation with the Senator.

 _ _You may be an untrustworthy and unethical piece of horse crap,__ _ _Senator, but as you said, we do have some common interests. It's like the old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And for now, Senator, consider yourself a friend. But once you're an enemy, well, it will be a bit uncomfortable for you.__

Leonard then looked over a dossier on his desk. It was labeled _**_**Operation:**_**_ ** _ _ **Southern Cross**__** and contained an outline of what appeared to be a detailed plan of action. Leafing through the plans, Leonard smiled even more.

 _ _Soon, I should hopefully be able to act on this. And if I get the chance, God help any of these Zent bastards left on Earth that get in my way. The South American quadrants will be a good enough place to test this out. There's not an overabundance of them there and it's far enough out of the spotlight.__

Glancing at the wall clock, he turned his thoughts towards another issue he had been discussing with the Senator.

 _ _Oh Henry, you should have gotten on board with this. Another one of those damn ships is not going to be the answer. Besides, whatever fallacies Hayes told you should have been fully vetted before going on a flight of fancy like this. As far as we know, we iced that big bastard Khyron, so that should be the end of it. No more chasing E.T. or whatever it is out there. Leave the Star Trek crap in the movies where it belongs.__

He glanced over at his computer and a draft of what appeared to be a letter. Glancing over the contents, Leonard smiled.

 _ _I'm sure that this will come as a surprise to Henry, but well, if I want to get what I need to do off the ground, I do have to go ahead with this. As I learned in school, the longest journey starts with but just a step. And this first step is the start of the rise to the top. Having the approval of Russo and the Council for this is just an added bonus. If it came to it, I would have just gone ahead with this anyways.__

A change in mood came over the decorated ground forces commander when thinking of his current benefactor in the Senate.

 _ _Unctuous little prick. He's a lot like Hunter, just without ethics or morality. However, dear Senator, you're in for a surprise. I've accounted for everything, even that supposed trump card you hold over me.__

A sneer came over his face as he took another drag off of the cigarette.

 _ _Like I'd be ashamed of who my father was and what he did in the past. Hell, he taught me all I ever needed to know about warfare. Told me that winning a war took every measure possible to finish the job. And that is something I fully intend to do.__

It was something Leonard had learned well in his past. Noted as one of the more ruthless commanders in the most recent Global Civil War, he had made a reputation of leaving nothing standing in his path and also expending whatever resources he had without any concern. It earned him commendations upon commendations during the conflict from the politicians. Among his soldiers, he earned a less than gracious nickname, that of "The Ol' Meatgrinder". It was with some heavy convincing from then Captain Henry Gloval that Leonard decided to throw in with the new UEG and later, the RDF. Through it all, Leonard utilized the same tactics, much to the dismay of his RDF comrades at times.

 _ _Making war is like making an omelette. Sometimes you have break a few eggs, or in my case, get a few men killed in the process. Oh well, nothing is ever easy either. We all die anyways, so what if it gets accelerated for a few poor bastards? Like Patton said, 'nobody ever became famous dying for their country, they got that way by making the other poor bastard die for his.'__

 _ _Besides,__ he thought, __if this plan goes through without any difficulties, I should be well on my way to my rightful place, running the RDF and making it into what an army should be.__

Stubbing out the cigarette, he allowed himself a slight flight of fancy towards two of his fellow officers at Macross Command.

 _ _And once I get my way, the first thing I do is separate Hayes and Hunter from each other. Hope she enjoys being a desk jockey for the rest of her career when I'm done with her. Although, I may be nice. She may like being stationed at New Pearl. But Hunter, as good as you are, you've crossed me one too many times. I'll take a bit of joy in shipping your ass somewhere...unpleasant.__

Glancing over his files, he eyed another one nearby. He paused briefly as he casually lit up another cigarette.

 _ _Speaking of getting one's ass shipped somewhere unpleasant, I think I may have to pull some strings here. This person could definitely help me out.__ _ _With what Southern Cross has in store, I'll need someone with his unique abilities to make this happen. Besides, there's something to be said about keeping promises.__

Tapping a button, the screen in front of Leonard came alive.

"Corporal, get me the Correctional Service."

After a brief pause, the surprised image of the RDF's Correctional Service, Colonel Bertrand Durossier, came up on Leonard's screen.

"Bert, it's Anatole. I'm sending over a formal request for one of your special 'guests' to be released into my care."

"Sure thing. Let me take a look here." A split second later, Durossier's face went white.

" _ _Mon Dieu!__ Him? But the Council..."

Leonard cut off Durossier with a sharp look. "I know damn well why he was sent to where he was. However, circumstances have changed greatly. This person is someone that will need some supervision, and I'm one for giving those worthy a second chance."

Leonard cracked a smile before continuing.

"Look, if you're afraid of the Council or any of the other brass like Gloval coming down on you, don't worry about it. I have the blessings of Senator Russo himself that this is a go."

Durossier looked at his screen and looked back at his counterpart. "That does change things a bit. However, has Russo read the files on this particular subject? This may be a case of opening up a whole new can of worms. This man cannot be trusted."

"I'm fully aware of what this gentleman has done in the past," Leonard answered with a bit of hostility in his tone. "However, for what I have on tap with the Council, I need a man with his particular skills."

Durossier sighed and bowed to the pressure from his counterpart. "OK, Anatole. If the Council has signed off on it, I'll approve this, albeit reluctantly. If I get any sort of blowback on this, it's your ass."

"Why, Bert, like I said, I'll take the hit on this. You're in the clear."

The screen went dead.

 _This should be a big help going forward with everything,_ Leonard thought as he took another long drag.

Leonard smiled as he took a final drag off of his cigarette. __Everything is starting to come into focus. The beauty of all of this is, nobody knows what is about to happen. Not Hayes, not Hunter, not Gloval, not that little bastard Russo, and certainly not those genetic freaks. The world is about to change and for the better.__

* * *

 _ _Well, th__ _ _is is going to go__ _ _about as I expect,__ Senator Russo thought to himself as he reviewed one of the documents on his desk. The cover of the document stated simply _**Super Dimensional Fortress 3: Proposal.**_

A slight scowl came over Russo's face as he leafed through the plans. _If they think this thing has any sort of chance of happening, they're crazier than I thought,_ he thought as he kept reading. _Still, if they are willing to play ball, I could make a killing on this. Then again, seeing Gloval and Hayes are involved, there's zero chance of that happening._

A wry smile came across his face.

 _Kind of like the chances this monstrosity has of making it out of committee._

He looked over at the clock and punched in a code.

 _ _Might as well make this call and get it over with,__ Russo thought with a semi-disgusted sigh.

The screen lit up with the image of an older man with thinning gray and white hair and an impressive gray mustache.

"Ah, Senator Russo. What do I owe the pleasure?"

"You know why I'm calling. I just got done reading over the brief from Macross. I have a meeting with Gloval and Hayes regarding CF-33907 tommorrow. I'll be sending that back to my committee within the next few days after the meeting where it will reside in legislative hell for the next millenium. And yes, before you ask, it's an encrypted channel. The spooks can't nose in on it."

Senator William Cardwell, who represented the New Denver quadrant, smiled.

"Ah yes, __that__ proposal," he responded with a hint of distaste. "I can assume you're already seeing you won't be able to shake the good Admiral and the __Commodore__ of their misguided ideas?" adding a bit of disdain to the official rank of one of the subjects of the pending meeting.

Russo nodded. "I'm planning to tell them the committee would look at the proposal 'as soon as possible'."

Both men started to laugh.

"Think they'll buy it?"

"Not a chance in hell, Bill. It's still getting shelved, unless they decide to cooperate in the appropriate manner. And knowing the virtuous nature of these two, I would say there's a better chance of Khyron coming back."

"I had that feeling," Cardwell said with a laugh. "I would say that your uncle would be impressed."

Russo smiled. "Oh, he would be alright. Before reviewing this mess from Gloval and Hayes, I had a talk with our friend Anatole. That's regarding CF-30946. The __Southern Cross__ proposal he floated. I'm sure you've had a chance to go take a look at that."

"That I have, Ulysses. I have to admit, it's a pretty audacious idea he's floated here. Took a lot of time to research everything. I'm right in assuming you'll be recommending we go ahead with this and the other proposal he sent out that was tied with that?"

"You know me well, Bill. Plus, the way things will work out once this passes, we should be able to benefit from this as well. Plus, giving the Colonel what he wants right now puts him in a place that he will owe us when the time comes around."

Cardwell smiled. "Indeed. I already reached out to Cardozo over at GalaxiaTech and let him know."

"And I've been in touch with O'Donlan at Midway InfoDynamics as well. Gave him a heads up of what's about to come."

"It's just a minor step, but we both should be looking good after this, Ulysses. If..excuse me, when this goes through, we both can make a case to be on the Council sooner rather than later."

"And with Leonard on board and taking over the RDF once we get on the council, we may actually get some things done and stop worrying about whatever UFOs are out there."

Laughter filled the office from both men.

Cardwell, however, stopped laughing quickly. "You sure Leonard can be trusted?"

Russo nodded. "We can count on him, trust me." __Besides, if he so much as twitches the wrong way, one phone call will ruin his career once and for all. And he's pretty aware of what I can do and what information I have. Sorry, old friend, but I can't share with the rest of the class. At least not yet.__

"I'll defer to your judgment on this, Ulysses."

"Good. I'll be pushing through 30946 and sitting on 33907 for the foreseeable future. I expect I have your vote on both measures."

"You can count on it. I'll go ahead and round up the usual suspects. This shouldn't be a problem getting it to the Council for final approval."

"For your sake and mine, I hope that is the case."

The screen went dead. Grabbing a glass, Russo made his way over to one of the counters near his desk. Opening a glass carafe, he poured a decent tumbler of his favorite Scotch. __I should savor this a bit more seeing there won't be any more of this kind for the next ten to twelve years. That is if they even rebuilt the distillery.__

Taking a sip of the amber liquid, a smile came across his face.

 _ _Still, it's worth it. It's definitely a special occasion.__ Smiling, he raised his glass to the ceiling in a mock toast.

"Here's to you, Colonel Leonard. You may be a crazy son of a bitch, but you're _**_**my**_**_ crazy son of a bitch."

* * *

Situated out in the middle of the North American continent, New Leavenworth was an imposing sight for anyone that managed to come up on it. The fortress was a solid block of white rock standing alone among flat rolling plains. The building was constructed as the UEG and RDF's home for the most incorrigible prisoners that they held on to. Inside of the fortress in a wing of plain cells, two heavily armed MPs and an official walked briskly down the corridor towards one particular cell.

The official looked down at the paperwork in his hand and sighed. _Whoever thought this was a good idea is seriously off their rocker_ , he thought. _Releasing **this** particular subject is something I do not agree with. However, orders are orders. If I had said no, there's a good chance I would be joining this piece of garbage in here for a long stay._

The three reached their destination, which was a cell near the end of the corridor. The two MPs took their positions to the side of the door, brandishing their rifles in case the prisoner decided on doing anything unacceptable to the official. The official took another deep sigh and punched in a code.

The door slid open. Inside of the cell was a man with dark hair and a darker look on his face.

"Prisoner 451D87," the official intoned as he looked down at the papers in his hand. "By order of the UEG Supreme Council, you will be remitted to the custody of one Colonel Anatole Leonard per their instructions. You will be transported to a separate barracks to await his arrival for your new posting."

The man smiled. "I guess this means I'm getting released, warden?"

The official nodded. "Wasn't my call. If I had my say, you'd rot in that cell for the rest of eternity. However, whatever it is Colonel Leonard wants with you is none of my concern. Once he gets here, you're thankfully no longer any of my concern."

The man in the cell stood up. "Well, I'm not going to say it was the most hospitable stay I've ever had, but I'm not exactly shedding many tears leaving."

This was met by a glare. "As you can tell, I'm not exactly upset you're leaving either. As I said, whatever it is that Leonard wants you for, he can have you."

The warden then motioned to the two MPs, who entered into the cell. "Come on. Time to move. I'll have one of the orderlies bring your belongings over to your new temporary home."

The man smiled again as he walked through the doorway into the corridor. _That's one thing about Anatole; he always keeps his promises_ , he thought. _I wonder what sort of adventure he has in store for me or why he needs my services again._

* * *

A few minutes later, the man found himself in his temporary home. _Not too bad,_ he thought as he walked around the living area. _Definitely an upgrade from that cell I was caged in for the past year and a half._ It was then that he noticed the laptop computer and a thumb drive sitting on the desk. Looking over, the man smiled as he turned on the computer and inserted the drive.

As the drive opened up, a familiar face came up on the screen.

 _"Raven, it has been a while,_ " Colonel Anatole Leonard stated on the video. _"I do apologize about the less than satisfactory treatment you received at New Leavenworth, but we had to go that route to make things look, well, believable."_

Raven nodded as he continued to watch the video.

 _"I will be arriving within the next 24 to 48 hours and you will be accompanying me to our new base camp. Also, as well as we have worked together in the past, don't take advantage of my mercy. There are MPs outside of the barracks that have orders to shoot first and not ask questions if you try to strike out on your own before I arrive."_

He laughed a bit. _Even after all this time, the bastard still doesn't trust me. Not that I'd blame him, but, at this point, I really don't have much of a choice._

The video continued on. " _I would highly suggest going over the files in this drive as they are important as to why I have gone ahead and released you to my care. They will outline what I need you for in the coming months. This is a very important operation I have in store and I definitely need a man with your unique talents. Needless to say, the fate of the world rests on it. Together, we can make this a better place and get things back to how it was before these Zent bastards showed up and set things as to how they should be. You will also note that there is an encrypted VOIP connection on this laptop. You may want to reach out to some of your old contacts to see if they are interested. Let them know that I do pay pretty well."_

The image faded out and the screen now showed a link for a presentation called _Southern Cross._ Raven shrugged as he clicked on it. _Well, might as well see what I'm in for._

As he scrolled through the presentation, an evil grin came across Raven's scarred face. _I have to say, Anatole, I am impressed. This is a plan I can definitely get on board with. And yes, I think I may have to make a few calls tonight._

Closing the presentation, Raven activated the VOIP connection and started to punch in numbers long remembered. The first connection picked up rather quickly.

"It's Raven. We're getting the band back together."

* * *

 **Original A/N -** _So, to kind of explain, the first 3 chapters will give a bit of a backstory and catch things up going into this one. Then, we'll be leaping into the mix with the story. Next chapter, we catch up on what the Skulls and Macross Command have been up to since we last saw them (although some things were hinted in this particular chapter)._

 ** _Author's Note (3/17/18)_** _\- Some new aspects have been added from the original setup._


	3. Ch 3 - Ride The Lightning

****Chapter Three - Ride The Lightning****

Even though it was only separated by two hundred kilometers from Monument City, New Macross was as far removed from its counterpart as if it were on the other side of the planet. The skyline of the city was not as expansive as Monument's was, but was instead dominated by a large lake in the middle of the city. Known locally as Lake Gloval, the lake was also home to the most recognizable landmark, the recently decommissioned SDF-1.

Like a guardian spirit rising from the lake, the venerable ship had resided there for the past three years since it's remarkable victory over the invading Zentraedi fleet that was hell-bent on eradicating humanity. It had lain dormant during this time until events of a month prior had what the locals had nicknamed "The Old Lady" coming out of retirement to once again protect the citizens of Macross and Earth. A well placed cannon burst from the ship's mighty guns had removed one of Earth's most implacable foes in Khyron, or at least that was what was assumed by the RDF forces that called the city home.

Housing most of these resolute forces was the expansive military complex known simply as Macross Command. Home for the massive RDF Air Forces, a good contingent of the RDF Ground Forces, and the Central Command for Earth's defending force, the facility spread over a good chunk of the southern and western coastline of Lake Gloval, with the city of New Macross itself dominating the eastern coast and north.

It was in one of the central command buildings where two of the heroes of what became known around the base as "Big Ugly's Last Ride" were sitting in one of the many offices, deep in conversation over an upcoming event of importance.

Inside of the office, sitting on a sofa with a large table in front was Captain Rick Hunter, commander of the RDF's elite squadron, the Skulls, and also Commander of the Air Group for Macross Command. Despite his age, Hunter was one of the most decorated and most skilled pilots in the entire Air Force. This was evidenced by his rapid rise up the ranks from mere Corporal five years prior to nominally third in overall command on the base.

With the rise up the chain of command came some new responsibilities, such as the one that was facing him now. Turning slightly towards the back of the office, he made eye contact with the other person in the room and began to give voice to his thoughts.

"Look, I don't really see why I have to tag along with this. I mean, you and the Admiral would be much better for this one. You both have experience dealing with the big wigs over in Monument."

This response was met with an agonized sigh from the office's other occupant.

At the desk in front of the sofa and table sat an increasingly frustrated Commodore Lisa Hayes, second in command at Macross Command and one of only two officers that outranked the brash young man sitting in front of her.

 _ _Breathe, Lisa,__ she thought to herself as she collected her thoughts on how to proceed next. __You really can't get too mad at him over this. It's not exactly a good intro to the whole political process dealing with him.__

What had triggered the reluctance from the base's CAG was an upcoming briefing with one of the more powerful members of the UEG, Senator Ulysses Russo, regarding the status of the RDF's request to proceed with a new SDF. The nearly completed SDF-2 had been a casualty of the Last Ride, suffering complete destruction in a surprise attack right before he launched his suicide run.

 _ _He does have a point in that he's never had to deal with the likes of Russo before. But, if he's going to be a full commander, he's got to realize there's a bit of politics involved. Not that I like it any better, but it's part of the territory. Eventually, he's going to have to face scenarios like this.__

She smiled as she looked over at the dark-haired pilot. As much as Rick could frustrate Lisa at times, she found herself unable to stay mad at the pilot.

 _ _Then again, Rick, your idea of negotiations with an unfriendly adversary usually involves a Veritech's gun pod or a well-placed Wildfire missile and usually results in something breaking. How did you describe it? 'Aggressive negotiations'?__

Her smile grew thinking of the conversation that brought that little tidbit up.

 _ _It's like watching a kid drag his feet over going to visit relatives he doesn't know and doesn't want to be around. It's cute in its own endearing, yet frustrating way. You're very lucky I love you, Rick. If it were anyone else, I would have probably put up with a hell of a lot less push-back about it.__

"Rick," she said in a less threatening tone than was expected. "I'm not a fan of these things, or politics either. But, if we want to convince the Senate and Council that we should be able to go ahead with building the SDF-3, we have to present a good case. We could use your expertise on this one."

"It's not that I don't want to, Lisa. I want to get this built as much as you and the Admiral, especially knowing what could be coming. Plus, God only knows what else is out there to boot." He had recently sat in on a briefing with the RDF's Zentraedi ally, Breetai, and got a crash course about a threat that could make the Zentraedi and the Masters look like nothing. __The stories about these Invid, they're enough to make your skin crawl,__ he thought. __And they even give the Zents some pause in attacking. That's saying something.__

Resuming his thoughts, Rick continued. "It's more of who we're dealing as to what we're dealing with here that has me apprehensive."

Lisa nodded her head. __Of all the Senators we could be having this meeting with, it would have to be him,__ she thought darkly. __In light of who he's related to, it'll probably end up being a case of if he can't get any cash out of this, he'll hold things up.__

"Senator Russo isn't exactly one of my favorite people, Rick. He's corrupt as they come, much like his late uncle. Probably looking to make a killing out of giving us sub-standard parts that will end up costing personnel their lives. Not that I ever saw that happen or anything."

"Plus, the little bastard royally screwed you over on the promotion."

Lisa's eyes flared a vibrant green, which was a valid indication that her guest had broached a touchy subject.

Rick gulped as he saw her eyes change. __And once again, I trigger the Hayes Death Stare. Been on the business end of those one too many times.__ Collecting himself, he looked up at Lisa apologetically. "Look, I didn't mean to bring it up. I know that's still a touchy subject."

Lisa shook her head. "No, you have every right to. And I'm really appreciative of your protectiveness, even if it may go over the top every once in a while." She thought back to when the news had arrived that her promotion to Rear Admiral had been downgraded to Commodore courtesy of Senator Russo. __I remember Rick making a comment about flying over to Monument and having a "slight weapons malfunction" occur right near his office right after that happened. It took a lot of convincing to keep him from deviating from any of his assigned flight paths and making a bee-line for his office.__

A smile came across Rick's face. "Well, it is part of the job description and all."

Lisa smiled back. "It's also in my job description to keep you from doing something stupid, even if I wouldn't have been overly upset if it did happen."

"I will say, maybe it's a good thing it's a remote briefing. If we were there face to face, I can't guarantee I wouldn't take a swing at him."

"I would," Lisa said plainly. Before Rick could respond, she continued. "Only because I would've already knocked him on his ass," adding a smile for good measure.

Rising up from her desk, she moved towards the couch and sat down next to Rick.

Rick started to laugh and put his arm around Lisa. "I don't doubt that for a second, Forever Girl."

Lisa leaned in and kissed Rick. "You know me too well, Flyboy." She sat back and smiled.

"And Admiral Gloval knows _**_**us**_**_ too well," Rick added with a chuckle.

"Maybe that's why the Admiral insisted this one be done remotely." She looked back over at Rick and smiled as she took his hand in hers. __As crazy as the last few months have been, I'm glad this was one of the outcomes of it all.__ Looking to change the subject to something a bit lighter than dealing with the machinations of the United Earth Government, Lisa asked a very simple question.

"So, what else is on your agenda today?"

"I'm heading out to the Proving Grounds later today with Wilcox and the Sterlings. Final check-outs on the new fighters Dr. Lang's been promising for the last year."

Lisa nodded. "So, the VF-4's are a go then?"

"Pretty much. Everyone at Macross has been running the new configurations on the sims non-stop over the past few weeks. Thankfully they're not that different than the VF-1's, so it's been a pretty quick learning curve. Skull, Rapier, and Azure are slated to get them fully in about two or three weeks if the final check-out goes OK."

"So, does with the VF-1's going away, that means..."

Rick sighed. "The Old Girl's getting retired sooner rather than later. I knew this day was coming. Progress marching forward and all of that. But I didn't see it being as tough as it was going to be."

Lisa moved a bit closer. "Has to do with Roy, doesn't it?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah. The Old Girl is the last tangible link I have left with him now. And that link looks to be going away."

Lisa leaned in. "You know, Roy's always going to be in two places, Rick." She gently pointed at his forehead. "Here." She then pointed to his chest. "And here."

Rick smiled. "I know that. Still, I've been to hell and back in that fighter."

"And knowing Roy as we both do, I doubt he would have been as sentimental about this."

Rick laughed. "That too. He'd probably tell me to grow a set, stop whining like a bitch, and get over it already."

Lisa nodded. "Well, I expect an update as to how the new fighters handle. They do look a bit different, that's for sure."

"As I said, progress marches forward." Rick stood up. "I should be getting back over to the hangars before Tom and Max start forming the search parties."

Lisa stood up and hugged Rick tightly.

"Be careful out there. And try to get back here on time tomorrow. The briefing is at 1300."

"Yes, ma'am. And I will be careful. Besides, as I always say..."

"You have a good reason to come home," Lisa finished with a smile.

"And there you go finishing my thoughts again," Rick said with a laugh. "You know how you have those 'many reasons', Lisa? I have them too, and that's up there on the list," he said with a wink.

She leaned closer and kissed Rick. "I love you, Flyboy."

"I love you too, Forever Girl."

Rick gave a quick salute as he exited the office, leaving Lisa to mull over the proposal regarding the SDF-3 and what looked to be a potentially contentious conversation the next day. __As much as you don't want to be there for it, you may need to be, Rick. For my sake if anything.__

* * *

Located about two hours south of New Macross was an expanse of flat terrain that had not recovered after the attack on Earth by Dolza's fleet. Almost immediately, the RDF set about making it into a specialty base for testing the next generation of Veritech fighters and Destroid ground mecha to be utilized by the force. Run by Dr. Emil Lang's Engineering team, the facility was officially known as the RDF Proving Grounds. To the members of the RDF, it was dubbed "Dexter's Laboratory", after a pre-Dolza's Rain cartoon that had been popular.

Near one of the hangars, four RDF pilots were walking towards a section of hangars. Most notable among the group of pilots was a shorter dark-haired man. Captain Rick Hunter smiled as led the others towards their destination. Through his sunglasses, Rick took in the area the facility. __Pretty plain looking, but seeing Dr. Lang runs the show here, looks are always a bit deceiving__ , he thought.

"Well, this should be fun," cracked Commander Tom Wilcox. "Should be interesting to see how these new Veritechs handle."

Rick nodded as the conversation pulled him out of his thoughts of the overall base aesthetics. "Yeah, it's a bit of a weird design, Tom. But, from what I read with the concepts and testing it in the sims, it seems like it has a bit more oomph than the VF-1s did."

"Trust me, you guys should have fun with these," Commander Max Sterling stated with a knowing smile. "They're faster and they've got a lot heavier weaponry than before. Plus the armor's a bit more robust."

"Kinda unfair you got first crack at these, Max," Rick said with a mock pout.

"I guess I should be thankful I will have a chance to pilot one of these," Lieutenant Commander Miriya Sterling replied. "From what Maximillian has told me from testing the prototype and from the schematics Captain Hunter provided, the weaponry is impressive. I would think if these fighters were rolled out earlier, it may have meant another outcome before I came over."

Wilcox smirked. "And knowing a few of your pilots, Hunter, they'll be very happy with the new toys."

"I can think of one off the bat, Tom," Rick said with a smirk. __Knowing how much Nibs likes to make things go boom, she'll be overjoyed. The smile she had after the first run in the sims was like seeing a kid on Christmas Day.__

"And if I heard was true, Dixon will be _**_**very**_**_ happy with that," Wilcox responded with a sly grin. Rick and Max both shook their heads. The day after the first run in the sims, Ben had come in late and had one of the goofiest grins on his face the rest of the day. It didn't take much for either Rick or Max to figure out what had exactly happened that night between Ben and Amelia.

Pushing back the vivid and somewhat unwelcome image Wilcox had just planted, Rick attempted to steer the conversation back towards what was at hand.

"The only concerns I have are about the sub-orbital handling. Been hearing that they're a little more sluggish up top than the VF-1s were."

Max nodded in agreement. "It was one big thing I had pointed out to the developers after one flight with the prototype. They assured me they would get that squared away before it deployed."

"Then again," Wilcox deadpanned, "As much as I don't want to be that guy and say it, but maybe it might have been a bit of fortune that Big Ugly targeted the Deuce like he did. If these things handle like a refrigerator trying to take a hairpin turn up in space, better to find out now before finding out when up against God knows what."

The others nodded. It was just then that the group arrived at a closed hangar. Standing in front of them were two men. One was in an RDF Ground Forces uniform and was wearing a red beret. The other man was dressed in a white lab coat and black pants and was holding a tablet and stylus. As Rick walked closer, the man in uniform snapped to attention and saluted briskly before walking towards him, extending a hand and smiling broadly.

"Captain Hunter, Commander Sterling, it's been a while," the man in the RDF uniform stated in an impeccable English accent.

Rick cracked a smile as he shook the other man's hand. "That it has, __Leftenant__ Major, that it has," he responded, using the British pronunciation of the other's rank.

The man in uniform turned his attention towards Max and shook hands. Turning to the others, he then stepped forward.

"Commander Wilcox, __Leftenant__ Commander Sterling, allow me to introduce myself. I am __Leftenant__ Major Cyril Gasgoine, commander of the 880th Mechanized and ranking officer here at the Proving Grounds. It's an honor to finally meet you two." Salutes and handshakes followed. Continuing on, Gasgoine motioned to the man next to him.

"This is Doctor Koromatsu, one of our lead engineers on the Lightning project. He will go over some of the specifications and answer any questions you may have about the VF-4."

The engineer bowed slightly towards the officers in front. "It is an honor to meet all of you. However, I think a visual may be more in order when going over the newest member of the RDF's arsenal." He nodded towards Gasgoine, who then motioned to one of the ground techs nearby. A loud grinding noise came up as the doors to the hangar opened.

As the doors opened, a sparkling white jet began to move forward slowly. The four pilots watched in admiration as the sleek craft began to move past. It did have the look of the original VF-1 in the front with the traditional cockpit area, but that was where the similarities came to an end. Two large engines sat on each side of the main fuselage of the craft. In front of the engine intakes were two very large cannons. Next to the cannons were three notches close to the cockpit on either wing. The wings spread out from the engines and the back of the craft tapered off in the back towards a third engine. On each wing were two groupings of what appeared to be air to air missiles.

"I present the VF-4 Lightning."

The four pilots nodded and took in the sight of what was to be the new standard for the RDF's air wing. Rick was the one that broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Looks really good, Doctor. What kind of engines are we looking at with this?"

"The Lightning comes equipped with two variable Glatt-Windsor JB-377 engines, capable of regular turbine flight in atmospheric conditions and reflex pulse power in sub-orbital. The third engine was a recent addition after some concerns were raised by Commander Sterling after a sub-orbital test. The middle engine is a Glatt-Windsor JC-923 pulse engine that boosts the overall speed in sub-orbital by at least one hundred kilometers per hour and increases the reaction time by about point three seven seconds."

 _ _Glad to hear Max's concerns were covered,__ Rick thought. __The sims hadn't accounted for this new addition. We'll have to modify that before we deploy for real so everyone gets used to that.__ Rick looked over at Max and nodded. The nod was returned by the other pilot, a silent acknowledgment that his lobbying was heard, much to the betterment of the entire project.

The engineer continued on. "Also, you will notice something with the two primary engines. They have the ability to pivot a full 90 degrees, thus allowing for VTOL capabilities in fighter mode as well as in Guardian and Battloid." This news was met with silent nods of approval.

"It does look a bit more robust than the VF-1," commented Wilcox. "How's the armor on this bird?"

Doctor Koromatsu smiled. "Well, Commander, the Lightning has the same Duranium skin as the VF-1, but a bit thicker in some of the more critical spots. We studied the saved telemetries from a good number of the VF-1s that were shot down during the initial conflict with the Zentraedi and also through the most recent Malcontent uprising. In critical spots, we doubled the thickness of the skin without adding much to the weight. Overall, the Duranium skin is about 2.5 centimeters thick. It can repel most light arms fire without much damage down here on Earth."

"So, basically if some jackass with an AK-47 decides to take a few pops at this bird..."

"It would be like a mosquito biting an elephant on its arse, Commander," Gasgoine stated. "It would take at least something in the 50 millimeter range of ordinance to actually have a chance of piercing the skin."

Wilcox whistled and nodded at this news.

"Obviously surface to air missiles, air to air missiles, and particle beam fire are a much different story. Robotech can work miracles, but some things still elude us as of yet."

Pointing towards the canopy, Doctor Koromatsu continued. "The biggest development is with the canopy itself. Take a good look at it. It looks to be glass, correct?"

The pilots all nodded as the Doctor smiled.

"Well, looks can be very deceiving. The canopy cover is actually transparent Duranium at a thickness of 3 centimeters. It also is infused with some of the latest in nanocircuitry as the canopy will also project the HUD on the canopy itself. Once in the main seat, you will notice that the traditional TacNet panel is now a touch screen made of the same Duranium materials as the canopy itself."

Miriya asked the next question. "What kind of firepower is on this fighter?"

Gasgoine grinned. "I think, my dear, you will be very pleased with what the Lightning has on board. The two cannons in front? They are variable ordinance cannons. In atmospheric conditions, they fire regular explosive tipped shells."

"How big? They're definitely bigger than the GU-11 on the VF-1," Rick asked.

"75 millimeter shells, Captain."

Rick whistled. __Yeah, that's gonna really suck for any pod that gets in the way of that, seeing the GU-11 can already make them into confetti,__ he thought. A sharp elbow from Wilcox broke Rick's thought pattern.

"Well, that seals it," Wilcox said softly. "Dixon will be the luckiest bastard on the face of the Earth once Nibs gets a hold of this thing."

Rick shook his head as he tried not to laugh. Gasgoine continued on with the rundown.

"Obviously, 75 millimeter shells won't do much good in orbit. So, as they're variable ordinance, they convert to particle beam cannons. Power comes from the reflex reactor that powers the engines. The beam cannons only take a very minimal amount of power, so there's no chance of draining the power by firing the cannons."

Gasgoine then pointed to recessed tubes midway between the cannons and the cockpit. "On each wing, there's three of these recessed tubes. Each one has a brand new bit of ordinance in place. Namely, a newer, larger version of the Wildfire called the Banshee. So, it comes with six standard. You also may have noticed the quad launchers on the wings. Those are something a bit newer, namely the MDS-4 Mini Launcher. The missiles are a bit smaller than a regular Wildfire, but have about the same stopping power. As for the Banshee? They're at least twice as strong."

The pilots all nodded and smiled as this fighter was a potential game changer if any of the scattered Malcontents decided to rise up.

"Well, on to the big question," Wilcox drawled. "How does it look in Batteloid mode?"

Doctor Koromatsu smiled and tapped on his tablet. In an instant, the Lightning fighter changed from its regular fighter mode into a large mecha. All four pilots looked and smiled.

"It's a little smaller than the VF-1 version, but with a little better armor and a much more powerful gun pod, I think it will compensate nicely."

"Nice touch with having the cannons come together to be the gun pod for the mecha," Miriya stated.

"They're also variable ordinance as well, Lieutenant Commander."

Max, who had a pretty good handle on what the fighter was capable of due to the testing flights he had made, was the next to speak.

"Has the Guardian issue been fixed yet?"

The others turned towards their colleague in curiosity at the reasoning behind the statement.

"OK, one of the times I was on a test flight with the prototype, it wouldn't go in to Guardian, no matter how many times I smacked the G button on the panel."

"We saw that issue, Commander, and it was addressed," Koromatsu replied. "I've run the program numerous times and I cannot get that same error you had to reappear. Observe." He tapped the tablet. The fighter quickly changed from a full mecha to a half mecha, half fighter configuration.

Max nodded. "Figured it was a one-time bug. If it's working, then we should be all set."

Doctor Koromatsu tapped the tablet one more time, causing the Veritech to change swiftly back to a regular fighter and then turned to Gasgoine.

"OK, if there's no more questions, feel free to go over to the other three hangars as there are Lightnings waiting for each of you. We also did get your cockpit setting preferences from your old VF-1s, so it won't be that strange in the new birds." He then turned to Rick. "Captain, this one here is yours. We kept it white for the time being, but we'll be adding the black and gold to it later on. But, as you can see, we did have to go ahead with this."

Rick looked at the tail fins of the craft. They were painted black with a very familiar white skull. The skull this time, however, had a bit of a twist as it looked a bit more like the inspiration for Rick's call sign. __Nice touch, guys,__ he thought. Running his hand along the wing towards the cockpit, he thought back to the first time he officially flew in a Veritech. __I was in awe then, I'm in awe now. It may not be the Old Girl, but I think it's got enough of her inside to make for a bit smoother transition.__

Rick climbed up the ladder to the cockpit and strapped in. Checking over the setup, he didn't notice much of a difference between the new VF-4 and the more familiar VF-1. __I think they did that on purpose,__ he thought as he started up the engines. A familiar whine came up as the turbines came to life and the fighter began to taxi towards the runways. Tapping the console, the face of the flight controller came up.

"Proving Grounds Command, this is Skull Leader requesting permission for takeoff."

"Roger that, Skull Leader. You and the others are cleared for takeoff. Runways seven and eight are clear. Also, Lieutenant Major Gasgoine wanted me to remind you that this is a strict 'you break it, you buy it' zone."

Rick laughed at the comment. "Well, I just got a pay bump, but not enough to cover one of these. Anyways, thank you Command. Skull Leader out."

He pulled back on the throttle and the fighter shot down the runway, lifting off the ground gracefully and soaring into the clear sky. Within a few minutes, Rick was joined by the others and were flying a standard diamond formation.

"OK, I see everyone's up and airborne," Rick stated with a smile. "First impressions?"

Wilcox was the first to pop up on the HUD. Like Rick, he was grinning ear to ear. "This is pretty damn nifty. Definitely has some horses under the hood, built like a tank, and has enough firepower to make any dumb Em Zee think twice about getting froggy."

Max popped up on the screen. "Told you guys you'd like it. I also pretty much knew what this had to offer. That's why I kept my mouth shut, well, with the exception of the Guardian issue and the sluggishness up top."

Miriya came up next. "This is probably the finest craft I have ever flown," she stated in her usual matter of fact style. "I piloted the best armored pods the Zentraedi had, and they do not even compare to this. If these had been in the RDF's arsenal earlier, it would have changed things."

"Yeah," Rick deadpanned. "I probably would have vaped Khyron a hell of a lot sooner and saved us a lot of headaches."

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty, Rick," Max chimed in. "Also, if what I heard was true, maybe things happened for a reason. The sluggishness in sub-orbital got the guys at the Skunk Works thinking again. They're already planning the next one. One that would be more exclusive for anything off planet, if you catch my drift."

Wilcox put his thoughts into words. "So, as nice as this bad boy is..."

"There'll probably be something for when they go ahead with the Three," Max added. "Speaking of that, Rick. Any news?"

Rick shook his head. "Nothing. There's a briefing tomorrow back home with Senator Russo about that. The Admiral and Lisa asked me to sit in on it."

"Sounds like a lot of fun, Rick," Wilcox said with a frown on his face. "Is he actually stupid enough to come to Macross after what he pulled with Lisa?"

Rick shook his head. "No, and we're not going to the hive of scum and villainy that is Monument either. It's thankfully going to be done remotely."

"Probably a really good idea," Max added.

"The Admiral's no dummy," Rick stated. "He figured if it were face to face, something would have happened."

"He figured you'd take a swing at Russo," Wilcox assumed.

"No," Rick corrected. "He was more afraid Lisa would. She flat out told me I wouldn't have gotten a chance because she would have knocked the little bastard on his ass."

"That I do not doubt," Miriya stated. "Commodore Hayes was not happy about the change in rank. This Russo seems a lot like Khyron, someone that cannot be trusted."

"I'd rather deal with Khyron if you ask me," Rick admitted. "At least I knew he wanted me dead and was pretty straight forward about it. Have to admit, for as insanely homicidal as he was, at least he was honest about it. Russo? That's a different story entirely." Thinking for a second and noting the time, Rick cracked a grin. "Excuse me for a few minutes. I have to test something out."

* * *

Back at Macross Command, it was a quiet day. The activity levels from the Malcontents had dropped off steeply after the attack by Khyron was repelled just a month prior. Up on the bridge, Commodore Lisa Hayes was doubling between her usual station as the flight controller and being in overall command as Admiral Gloval was easing her into the role of just being the overall commander. This day, she was sitting in Admiral Gloval's usual seat, allowing the others to run things. Taking care of the flight controller duties was Lieutenant Sammie Porter, one of the infamous Trio on the bridge.

As she was keeping an eye on things, she caught an incoming transmission on the TacNet. Punching up a screen, she saw something she had never seen before.

 _ _Enter encryption key to continue? What the hell?__

She turned towards the top of the bridge.

"Ma'am? Can you come down here for a second."

Lisa nodded and walked down. Sammie looked over at Lisa and asked, "Any idea what this is? I've never seen an encrypted call over the TacNet before. Have you?"

Glancing over, she rolled her eyes. __I should have known.__

"I know what this is. I'll take care of it." She looked over at the nervous woman next to her. "Go ahead and grab a cup of coffee, Sammie. I'll fill you in later."

Sammie saluted and made her way towards the back of the bridge while Lisa settled in to what was her usual spot on the bridge. Eyeing the source of the transmission, she smiled as she entered in a sequence of keys. The screen blinked quickly and the image of one Rick Hunter popped up on the screen.

"Really, Rick? Even when you're at the Proving Grounds?" Lisa responded half jokingly

"Well, I had to test if the channel worked. I see it still does."

"And you confused the hell out of poor Sammie. I sent her on a quick coffee break." She smiled. "So, how's the VF-4 working out?"

"The Skunk Works outdid themselves with this one. It's pretty solid. Definite step up from the VF-1."

"Good," she added with a smile. "Well, after you left, I did talk to the Admiral. He's letting you off the hook for tomorrow. He seems to have a feeling its not going to go well and wants you to huddle up with Doctor Lang to see what we can do to get a more precise plan as to what we would need for the Three."

"Probably a good idea to be honest. Especially with what Max told us earlier that the guys here have something in mind for when we go ahead with the Three. The VF-4 is probably going to be one of the last primary Earth based fighter in our arsenal. They're thinking a bit bigger."

"Something that can help our case?"

"Probably not right now."

"Anyways, I should probably get Sammie back in here and back to work. She's going to be doing a lot more of the flight control for us. The Admiral is starting to push me more towards his role," she said with a sigh.

"The curse of responsibility," Rick said. "It's probably why Max is doing more of the flying on the prototypes than I have."

Lisa nodded. "Now you understand. Be safe out there, Flyboy. I'll see you when you get back."

"I always am, Forever Girl. See you later!"

"And Rick? Don't use this channel again unless you know I'm on Flight Control."

"Or we can patch it over somewhere else," Rick said with a wink.

"Get back to work already," she said with a smile. With that the screen went black.

* * *

As the four pilots made their way back to Macross Command aboard a modified EC-33 used as a simple transport, Rick was looking out the window, thinking of what potentially awaited the RDF the next day. __Part of me wants to be there, just to keep Lisa from going off on Russo. But I also understand why she and the Admiral are thinking it's better I don't attend. We're going to need a plan B, plan C, and possibly plan D if Russo decides to not go along.__

"Something on your mind, Boss?" Rick had barely noticed Max grabbing one of the seats across from him.

"Mostly about that briefing tomorrow regarding the future of the Three."

A snort came from Wilcox, who was sitting nearby. "Seeing that Uncle Pennybags Russo is involved, he's going to want some considerations to get that up the chain, Rick."

"And the Admiral is not one to pay bribes," Rick stated plainly. "I may or may not have talked to Lisa while we were checking out the new birds and found out I don't have to attend tomorrow," he added.

"So that's why you went silent," Max said with a smile. "Good to know our encrypted channels still work."

"You knew I was going to test that out, Max," Rick said with a laugh. Returning to what he was discussing earlier, Rick sighed. "They're pulling me off because they think Russo's gonna bin the proposal and they want to have some contingency plans underway. I meet with Doctor Lang first thing tomorrow."

Miriya heard part of this and shook her head. "They're foolish if they don't proceed with this. The Masters are just as dangerous as any of my former colleagues are, maybe even more so. And then there's the Invid." Her voice trailed off and she shuddered after mentioning the main enemy of the Zentraedi. "Those parasites are a bigger threat, maybe even more so than the Masters."

"So Breetai told me," Rick added. "I'm sensing a bit of a relaxation on the part of the UEG after we took out Big Ugly."

The others nodded.

"It's definitely been noticed," Max added. "If anything, they're probably pinning their hopes to some sort of ill-advised super weapon, like another Grand Cannon or something like that," he continued with a sense of bitterness. "It's what I like to call a 'Pre-Dolza Mentality'."

"That makes sense," Wilcox chimed in. "Russo's uncle got quite a bit in kickbacks when they commissioned the Grand Cannon. The man probably died counting his money when the reflex beam vaped him and most of Chicago."

"So," Rick continued. "Tomorrow, I want to meet up with you guys and Ben to see what we can do to make the SDF-3 an offer that even Russo can't refuse, outside of letting the little weasel skim off of the contracts without impunity."

"Isn't Ben running the sim training?" Max thought.

"Nibs can handle it. She's been his partner in the training after she was the first one to pass. Besides, she's a bit more patient with the others when they screw up in the sim. Ben usually just makes a joke about it and doesn't explain why they failed. She takes the time to explain the error and gives some pointers."

"As long as he does not make an ill-timed joke, Ben is pretty perceptive about some things," Miriya added. "The joking just gets in the way. Although, Amelia has started to break him of that habit with the training." She looked over at Rick. "It was a pretty wise decision to pair those two together."

"Ben agrees in more than one way," Wilcox added with a smirk.

Rick turned his counterpart. "So, Tom. How many of your guys pass the final yet?"

"About half. The issue with the sub-orbital handling is the big stumbling block. I guess the sim is going to be updated pretty soon to reflect the change?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah, that's getting put in place as we speak. I called Ben before leaving. He and Nibs are going to add it in with some help from one of the coders in Engineering."

"Better that than doing it yourself," Miriya added.

"Or getting Baker involved," Max said with a wry grin.

Wilcox turned towards Rick. "OK, Hunter. How many of yours are still not fully checked out on the sim?"

"Would you believe just one?"

Wilcox shook his head. "Let me guess, Baker screwing up intentionally?"

"Nope. Graham's the lone one not to pass."

Miriya had a look of distaste cross her face at the mention of Sue Graham. "There is something about Sergeant Graham that I cannot put my finger on. It is some sort of..of..."

"Vibe, dear," Max added.

"Yes, vibe! There is some sort of vibe I get whenever I am around her. It just doesn't seem right."

"Well, that's for another time. Right now, we need to focus on the SDF-3. I'll be meeting with Doctor Lang at 0900 tomorrow. I would say we would want to meet at 1100 hours. The briefing starts at 1300 and probably won't finish for a while. Seeing Lisa is swinging over after it ends to update me, I'd like to have something out there for her to bring back to the Admiral as a potential counter."

The others nodded. Rick sat back and shook his head.

 _ _No pressure, guys,__ he thought. __Just the survival of the human race and the aligned Zentraedi is at stake. Nothing huge or anything.__

* * *

 ** _A/N -_** _So, the setup is going to spread to at least one more chapter. The story will make some more sense with the back stories in place and I am a fan of the slow burn with setting up the action :). In the meantime, I did do some research and picked up on the info for the VF-4 (which was the model plane Rick was playing with in the final episode, right before Lisa showed up and Khyron decided to attack). Found the specs for the fighter over at the **Robotech Saga Wiki**. So, all credit to those guys for culling the basic info, but I had some AU fun with it, especially with the weaponry and some other aspects._

 ** _A/N #2 (3/28/18)_** _\- Caught a spelling error to a character's name that needed correction. Done._


	4. Ch 4 - From Good To Bad To Worse

****Chapter Four - From Good To Bad To Worse****

In one of the many conference rooms at Macross Command, as the important briefing by Lisa and Admiral Gloval was going on, another room nearby saw another important meeting taking place. For this meeting, Captain Rick Hunter was sitting at the large table surrounded by three of his top pilots, Commander Tom Wilcox, Commander Max Sterling, and Lieutenant Commander Ben Dixon. On the large screen in front of them was Dr. Koromatsu from the Proving Grounds and the head of the VF-4 Lightning project.

The meeting in of itself was pretty much a last minute affair that had come about after the latest batch of Macross Command's top pilots had made the trip to the Proving Grounds to test out the replacement craft for the venerable VF-1. Rick had only heard about what triggered the hastily assembled briefing about twenty minutes before. It was only by good fortune that the other three were in Rick's office going over some of the preliminary plans for the SDF-3.

The looks on the faces of the four pilots matched that of the engineer on the screen as the news was relayed as to what caused the meeting in the first place.

Rick was the first to speak. "OK, what exactly happened?"

Koromatsu sighed before continuing on. "Well, Captain, at about 0830 this morning, two of your pilots, Lieutenant Dan Helberg and Major Jason Wottler from Omega Squadron were testing out the VF-4, mostly the ordinance."

He then clicked on a hand-held remote. The screen changed from the picture of the engineer to a video of the two fighters coming in towards a target.

"As you can see," Koromatsu continued, "They were coming in at a decent angle and were preparing to fire one of the Banshee missiles, as you can see here on Lieutenant Helberg's craft." The video stopped for a brief second as the area around one of the wings was highlighted, then continued.

"It appears the missile in the second tube misfired right before it was supposed to launch, causing what we call in my line of work, a catastrophic structural failure of the right wing of the craft."

The video showed a brief flash, followed by a fireball erupting from the missile detonating in the tube. The four pilots watched in horror as the wing was completely sheared off the fighter, causing it to dip to the left rapidly. Just before the crippled fighter slammed into the dried lake bed, the pilots all saw another quick flash, followed by a blur rising upwards.

 _ _Thank God he punched out,__ Rick thought to himself as he watched the video.

On the screen, The video faded and was replaced by the vision of Doctor Koromatsu.

"The pilot from the affected fighter did eject and is undergoing a standard medical check. The other fighter was unaffected and returned immediately after the incident."

Rick looked up at the monitor and saw the look on the face of the engineer. __I know that look,__ he thought. __He just gave us the good news, now here comes the bad news.__

Dr. Koromatsu cleared his throat and continued on. "My team already has run some diagnostics from the fighter that survived the crash and already compared it to the destroyed fighter. It appears that the misfire was due to something internal on the fighter itself and not the missile. We double checked the others we have here, including the ones you, Commander Wilcox, and the Sterlings flew yesterday. They had the same issue there as well."

"Good thing we decided not to play with the missiles," Wilcox muttered under his breath.

The look on the face of Dr. Koromatsu matched that of the assembled pilots. Rick was the first one to speak up after what seemed an eternity of silence.

"Might as well just cut to the chase, Doc. How long of a delay are we looking at?"

"At least three to four months, and that's if we fully pin down the bug. It could be a lot of variables involved. We're reviewing the code, and if we have to go through and re-write it for the primary weapons system, that could even push it back further."

A sense of frustration descended on the conference room. Rick shook his head and looked down, trying his best not to give voice to his anger. __Ripping the Doc apart isn't going to get the fighters fixed,__ he thought. __Besides, the Doc's just as pissed as you are about this situation.__ Taking a deep breath, Rick looked up at the viewscreen.

"Understood, Doc. I'll relay the bad news to Admiral Gloval. Keep us posted."

Koromatsu nodded and the screen went dark.

Rick turned to the others. A quick look around the room confirmed what Rick was thinking. __They're just as pissed off as I am.__

Ben was the first in the room to speak out. "Well, ain't that just a kick in the ass. And I spent all last night here with the Geek Squad to get the sims in order, only for the timetable to get pushed back again."

Rick nodded. "Not exactly how I expected my day to start off, that's for damn sure." An exasperated sigh followed. "The only good thing out of that is that Meeseeks and Weeble got out of that in one piece," he added, referring to the two pilots by their call-signs. "As for the sims, we still need them to get the others used to the update on the sub-orbital ops. Trust me, I didn't see this coming, Ben."

Max nodded. "Honestly, the missile firing system never gave me any problems. And, knowing how much time the Skunk Works put into this, they're going to be pretty damn thorough reviewing that code. There's a pretty good chance they may not roll the Lightning out until the end of the year."

"On top of the other delays," Wilcox mentioned. "This plane's just had nothing but bad luck since it was announced."

Rick nodded. The VF-4 Lightning was supposed to have rolled into service about three years ago, but was pushed back after the attack on Earth happened. __That kind of made sense, seeing bringing out a new fighter was pretty trivial to rebuilding the world,__ Rick thought. Since then, delays and other issues had kept the VF-1's replacement from joining the fleet. This latest incident was just the latest to plague the fighter. __We fighter jocks are a pretty superstitious lot,__ Rick mused. __The more delays the Lightning has, the less likely it'll be accepted by the rank and file.__

"All I can do right now is let the Admiral know and go from there," Rick continued. "At this point, we're still going with the VF-1's, but we need to keep the training up for the VF-4's as well."

"So, pretty much business as usual, Boss?" Ben asked.

"For now, Ben. Hopefully it'll change for the better in the next few weeks."

Rick looked up at the clock on the wall. Turning to the others, he got up. "Pretty good chance the Admiral and Commodore Hayes are going to be done with that little chat with Monument about the SDF-3. It might be a good idea if we break, grab a bite to eat, and meet up at my office at around, say, 1430."

"Also gives you a chance to figure out how you're going to tell them about this little setback," Wilcox added.

Rick sighed. "Yeah, that too."

As the group left the conference room, Rick had one thought on his mind as he walked back to his office.

 _ _Hopefully Lisa's having a better time of it than I am.__

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Rick Hunter found himself sitting back in his office awaiting the others to return. Looking towards the ceiling, he was deep in thought over the events of earlier that morning.

 _ _Hopefully Dr. Koromatsu can find out what caused that to happen a lot sooner than later, otherwise I'm going to have a bunch of unhappy pilots on my hands.__ He sat back in his chair and sighed. Checking his MP3 player, he saw a particular song was starting. Turning up the volume on the speakers, he smiled a bit. __Everyone's got that one song that puts you in a good mood. This one does it for me and it is kinda fitting for Lisa and myself as this was on when we finally cleared the air.__

Rick's self-reflection came to an abrupt end with a knock at the door. Pausing the MP3 player, Rick sat up at his desk.

"It's open."

The door swung open and Rick found himself greeted by an extremely frustrated and angry Lisa Hayes. Not even bothering to say anything in greeting, Lisa walked over to the couch in the office, dropped the dossier folder she had been holding on the table and sat back, holding her head in her hands.

Rick stood up from his desk and moved towards the couch. __Well, I think that gives me an indication on how well things went with Russo,__ he thought. __And knowing her, if she's acting like this, she's not going to say a word until I say something. And if I ask one particular question, she's probably gonna tear my head off.__ Taking a deep breath, Rick realized what he had to do. __Well, it's probably in the job description, so I guess I should just get it over with and take one for the team here.__

"So, I'm guessing things didn't go too well."

Lisa looked up and started to laugh. "Understatement of the year, Flyboy. Knowing how Russo operates, our proposal is just going to sit in committee for the foreseeable future, that is if they just don't outright forget about it."

"Wasn't sold on there being a bigger threat out there?"

Lisa shook her head. "You know how that little bastard is. If he can't get any money out of it, why should he care if there's potentially more dangerous foes than the Zentraedi out there. Then again, all that money his uncle had sure did a hell of a job protecting him from that reflex beam that took out Chicago."

Rick sat down next to Lisa on the couch. She looked towards the ceiling and sighed.

"Why do I think he wasn't going to listen no matter what the Admiral or I said?"

Rick nodded. "It's probably a good thing I wasn't there after all. I probably would have said some things I would have maybe not regretted."

Lisa looked over and smiled. "You're not the only one. I know the Admiral had to step out of the room at one point after one particularly stupid comment. I heard __'yob tvu mat'__ a few times when that happened."

"So, what's the game plan now?"

Lisa laughed. "There is no 'game plan', Rick. We're pretty much screwed when it comes to the SDF-3 right now. As long as Russo sits on it, we can't do a thing to progress on construction. Nothing short of a miracle or a large infusion of cash will change his mind."

"And seeing we actually have these things called morals, we'd better hope for the miracle," Rick added. "Either that or a major backlash at the polls next election that sees Russo and his cronies swept out of office."

"From your lips to God's ears, Flyboy. But that could be wishful thinking."

"Never hurts to be an optimist, Forever Girl," Rick added with a smile.

Lisa smiled back. "Well, here's hoping that was the lone bad news of the day."

A dark expression came over Rick's face after that statement. Lisa looked over and sighed. "Well, so much for optimism. Dare I ask what happened that has you looking like that, Rick?"

"Well, I got a call earlier this morning from the Proving Grounds. Long story short, one of the VF-4's had a weapons malfunction while on a test flight. One of the missile tubes misfired and sheared off the wing it was on in the process. Pilot got clear, but there wasn't too much left of it after it hit the lake bed. They checked the readouts from the other fighter that was out with it with the one that crashed and the same anomaly came up. They're now checking _**_**all**_**_ of the VF-4's to see if it's an issue with the code. So far, it's not looking good."

"So, that means?"

"The VF-4 is gonna be delayed. Koromatsu thinks at least three or four months at the very least. It could be longer if they have to re-write the primary weapons system codes."

"Wonderful," Lisa added with some sarcasm. "And seeing Admiral Gloval and I were in the meeting with Russo, he doesn't have any idea about this yet."

Rick nodded. "Guess I should go up to his office and give him the latest round of bad news."

They both got up and made their way out of the office and the wing where it was located. Before leaving, Rick left instructions with the orderly to let the other pilots in Skull know he would be briefing them on some things later that day. Almost forgetting, he also instructed the orderly to let Wilcox, Ben, and Max know he wouldn't be back for a while.

As Rick and Lisa made their way across the office complex, both were thinking that this was the last of the bad news to come through on this day.

 _ _Usually, this kind of stuff happens in threes,__ Lisa thought. __Here's hoping there's no third.__

* * *

The small wing of Macross Command's sprawling complex that Skull Squadron called home was a hive of activity. As the squadron was on an enforced down time after the events of the previous weeks, the group in of itself was itching to get back into action. So, it was with great excitement that the pilots received the news of a possible briefing from Captain Rick Hunter to be scheduled for later in the day.

As the time was approaching, different members of the squadron met up to check if what was rumored to be the subject of the big briefing was what they had been hearing.

"Bet you even money it's about the Three," Major Fred "Screech" Malikowski stated to a few of the pilots sitting in the lounge area. "The Boss was supposed to be sitting in on some sort of briefing about that today with some of the suits in Monument."

"Could be, Screech," Major Jack "Plankton" Baker responded. "I think it's more about the new VF-4s rolling out. You know the Boss, Nightwing, and Deadpool all were at the Proving Grounds for a good chunk of the day." He sat back and smiled. "Can't wait to actually fly one for real instead of on the sims. They kinda get boring."

"That is if you don't reprogram them, Jack," Sergeant David "Stitch" Rivers deadpanned. "Ya know, some of those pods still stink like puke, man."

"Not my fault that the sim computer couldn't handle what I had in mind. I had copied what the Boss did a few years before and tweaked it a bit."

"A good programmer never blames his code, Jack," Screech added. "Besides, I saw the code afterwords. You used the wrong code language! No wonder the sim computer went insane."

Baker blinked. "I did?"

Stitch was trying not to burst out laughing. "Did you ever think in your never-ending quest to be just like the Boss, you would have realized they updated everything last year? I mean, it was kinda big news when they installed the new sim mainframes and all."

Screech shook his head. "They re-wrote everything. That's why Commander Sterling was running the show for nearly a month when we first joined up. The Boss and Sloth were re-programming everything with the Geek Squad. I mean, we were in the same class and all, Plankton."

Baker, by this point, was looking down, muttering to himself for overlooking one simple thing.

Nearby, Sergeant Susan "Mystique" Graham leaned over towards her counterpart, Sergeant Karen "Elsa" Penn and whispered, "What the hell did Screech mean by that?"

"Simple. It'd be like having to write something in French, but you ended up writing something in Korean. They're languages, but nothing even remotely close to one another."

"Ah, I gotcha," Graham looked back at Baker and shook her head. __I have no idea what you see in him, Karen,__ she thought. __He's a clown. Besides, calling him "Rick Hunter, Jr" is an insult to Captain Hunter.__ Graham smiled a bit at the thought of her commanding officer. __Someday, I'll get the nerve to say something to Rick. Maybe show him how...appreciative I am of the chance to fly with the Skulls.__

A tap on the shoulder brought Graham back to the present. She looked up and saw a brunette standing behind her with a semi-lopsided grin.

"Hey Mystique," Major Amelia "Nibbler" Niebauer said with a smile. "Did you get through the final sim check-out yet? I know you've been busting your ass on that."

"Um, not yet, Nibs," Graham stammered. "Been having a tougher than expected time with the sub-orbital portion. Not getting the reaction time I need for that one portion. Every time I go through it, I'm eating a particle beam or worse." An exasperated sigh followed.

A reassuring pat on the shoulder followed. "I wouldn't sweat it, Mystique. It looks like there may have been a potential flaw we missed when we put the sim together."

As all the pilots needed to pass the final check-out on the sims to be cleared to fly the new fighter, Captain Hunter had originally tasked the training duties to Ben Dixon. However, as Amelia had been one of the first to pass the check-out, she naturally assumed some of the training duties and was considered to be a valuable resource by her squadmates as to what would be needed to pass.

Amelia smiled as she relayed some news that might make her counterpart feel a bit better. "Ben talked to Max, Miriya, and the Boss when they got back from the Proving Grounds yesterday. It turns out the guys at the Skunk Works added something between when we rolled the sim out until now. Something that would definitely help."

"Wonder what it was that the nerds missed," Baker snorted. This earned him a sharp look from the three women nearby.

"They added a third engine that's only used in sub-orbit," Amelia explained. "It's improved the handling on the fighters in sub-orbit tremendously. We're adding that in to the sim."

"Just don't have Baker program it," Penn added. "I'm afraid it'd probably cause the sim to explode or something if he 'fixed' the code." All the pilots save one started to laugh after the pinpoint delivery of the barb.

"Hey, I'm right here, ya know?" Baker shot back.

"Your point?"

Baker grumbled something under his breath about rethinking some things. He also thought of a withering comment he could direct at Penn, but opted against it as he was currently outnumbered. As he looked up he saw something on the TV in the room. As was usual, the TV was set to a 24 news channel, but the report on the news was something that grabbed Baker's attention. It was a report from South America about Zentraedi rioting in Buenos Aires.

 _ _"As you can see, the scene here in the main avenue of Buenos Aires is not good at this hour,"__ the reporter stated. __"The Zentraedi that call this city home are up in arms tonight after one of their own was shot during a routine traffic stop. Right now all across the South American quadrants, Zentraedi are protesting this event. Currently, there are riot police on the streets of not only Buenos Aires, as you can see, but also in other municipalities across the Argentine Quadrant. These riots look to have been caused by ongoing tensions between the Zentraedi and Human populations that were recently escalated by the attempted attack on New Macross by Khyron. The recent incident in Buenos Aires looks to be a potential spark that may cause the entire continent to lurch into anarchy. Governor General Jose Cosseger of the Argentine Quadrant has declared martial law and has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew..."__

 _ _Damn. That's not good,__ he thought as he saw the report. It was just then he noticed some of the others were starting to watch the events unfolding on the TV.

Baker whistled while watching one particular scene of a Zentraedi hurling a flaming bottle towards a line of riot police. "Good arm on that guy," he deadpanned, drawing a few stares.

Amelia shook her head. "Remember how the Boss said New Detroit could have deteriorated?" Both Baker and Screech nodded. "This is what I think he meant by that. That's pretty ugly."

Penn nodded. "Reminds me of some of the anti-UEG riots in Seattle growing up. I can remember being stuck in my house for a week because of it. Also, you never forget the scent of tear gas."

Graham sighed, then asked the question that everyone was thinking. "Wonder if we're gonna end up getting sent down there to help clean up that mess."

"Here's hoping we don't," Stitch stated flatly.

It was a position the assembled pilots shared.

* * *

At almost the same time, in another part of the base, Rick and Lisa were sitting in Admiral Gloval's office going over the two bits of bad news the RDF had received in the past few hours.

The Admiral was seated at his desk, looking downwards and trying not to give flight to his rage at the entire situation that had developed in the past few hours. __Nothing but bad news today,__ he thought as he collected himself. __Lisa sat through that travesty of a briefing with that pig Russo. The nerve of that man to even insinuate that we would need to 'provide' for his constituents if we went ahead with the SDF-3. However, the news of the problems with the VF-4 that Rick provided is just as troubling, if not more so.__ Rubbing his temples, the Admiral raised his head and looked over at two of his most senior officers on base.

"So, Rick, you are telling me that the VF-4 is not going to be deployed on schedule?"

"Yes, sir," Rick responded. "Dr. Koromatsu thinks it may be something with the programming on the primary weapons system that may need to be either repaired or completely overhauled. It's still early, but he was of the opinion that the rollout of the VF-4 is going to be delayed by at least three to four months at the least, maybe more if they have to overhaul everything. As soon as he has something, he'll be in touch with me."

The Admiral shook his head. "Wonderful news. This on top of the issues with convincing Monument to go ahead with the SDF-3 is making today into a mess. I can only imagine what else can happen this day."

It was just then that the Admiral's intercom buzzed. He grumbled as he tapped the button. "Go ahead."

"Admiral, I have Colonel Leonard on the line. Something about a potential situation in South America."

"Patch it through."

Lisa looked over at Rick and winced. "Remember how bad news comes in threes?" she said softly. "I think we're about to see the third bit of bad news today."

"If Anatole's calling, it can't be good," Rick said back softly.

The intercom came alive with the gruff voice of Colonel Anatole Leonard. "Henry? You may want to turn on MacrossNews right now. It looks like things in the South American quadrants are going a little sideways."

The Admiral nodded to Lisa, who turned on the TV to the 24/7 news channel based in the city. On the screen was the image of a burning car and what appeared to be Micronized Zentraedi running through the streets, throwing rocks and other debris towards a line of riot police. Underneath the footage was a graphic describing the situation: "RIOTS IN BUENOS AIRES - ZENTRAEDI PROTEST SHOOTING", with an information crawler running below.

Rick and Lisa could only shake their heads at the scenes unfolding on the screen. _New Detroit could have ended up like this,_ Rick thought darkly.

"Thundering asteroids! What did those fools in Buenos Aires do now?" Gloval shouted out.

"Some of the local police pulled over a Zent driver, something happened during the stop, and they shot the poor bastard," Leonard stated matter of factly. "Unfortunately, there was a crowd of other Zents nearby and they killed the cops. It's gone downhill from there as you can see. Governor Cosseger's made a call in to Monument about activating the RDF forces nearby in Rosario and also over in Montevideo and Rio. I'm inclined to do so and, given the gravity of the situation, also head down there to make sure it's not bungled."

"We need to appeal for calm, Anatole," Gloval responded. "Bringing in our forces in full is only going to make a bad situation worse, plus it may touch off more riots. You know South America's been on edge for the last few months."

"Somebody needs to put these Zents straight. They won't listen to reason. There's only one thing they understand, Henry. Raw power. We showed them that more than once and they've backed off around Macross and Monument, haven't they?"

Both Rick and Lisa had a sense of dread at the prospect of using RDF troops on the Zentraedi rioters. __Admiral Gloval is right,__ Lisa thought. __We put boots on the ground down there and it'll probably make a bad situation worse.__

 _ _Great, the Ol' Meatgrinder's spoiling for a fight,__ Rick thought. __Which probably means he'll be begging me to release some of our squadrons to assist in the 'pacification' process. Most likely, he'll want Skull down there. I'm not relishing this at all and to be honest, I'd rather not go unless absolutely necessary.__

"Anatole," Admiral Gloval responded. "I'm sure Colonel Goncalves can handle things appropriately down there. Tell the Governor that we need to appeal for calm first before we decide to go to that next step."

"I had a feeling you'd drag your feet," came the response. "That's why I already reached out to Monument and got the clearance from the Council to go down and supervise things."

The three officers were stunned by the statement from the voice on the other side of the line. Rick looked skyward and muttered something about how he saw this move coming. Lisa could only shake her head, thinking the same thing Rick was at that moment. _Not surprised by this at all. This is only going to potentially get worse._

However, Admiral Gloval was the one in the room that decided to give voice to his concerns.

"You did **what**? Are you mad, Anatole?"

"I'm already on my way down there, Henry. I just wanted to at least give you a courtesy call. The paperwork is already in place and was sent over about twenty minutes ago. Lieutenant Emerson is more than capable of keeping things in order here in Macross while I'm gone. I have some work to do down there. I'll be in touch later once I have a full scope of the situation."

"Now listen here, Anatole!"

The intercom went dead. Rick and Lisa were in shock at what had just transpired. Admiral Gloval sat at his desk, seething.

"Well, that explains why he wasn't at the briefing with Monument," Lisa deadpanned. She shook her head. "Do you want me to scramble some fighters and intercept him, sir?

"Say the word and Skull will be in the air in fifteen minutes," Rick added.

The Admiral shook his head. "No, it wouldn't do any good." Reaching over, the Admiral grabbed his pipe and lit it. Taking a satisfying puff from the pipe, Gloval sat back and looked at the two officers in the room with him. "I did get his message just now on my e-mail. I also saw it was approved by the Council. My guess is that this little incident in Buenos Aires is not going to be tolerated."

"I don't see this ending very well," Lisa stated. "Like you said, putting forces out in force may cause an already tense situation to explode. And that's the last thing we need right now."

Rick nodded. "We're still down a bit from Khyron's last attack. A full on Malcontent uprising would be tough to handle, especially if they knew we're having issues with the VF-4's deployment. Not that the VF-1 is a step down, far from it as it's proven it can handle Zentraedi pods. But, the nature of this, well, I know how sideways urban unrest can go," he added, alluding to the New Detroit incident from a few months prior.

"Rick," Gloval stated. "You may want to let your pilots know what's going on and there may be a chance they may be called in."

"Understood, sir. Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"I don't like this at all. I'm getting a bad vibe from all of this, especially with how Leonard decided to bypass you and go straight to the Council."

"I don't either, Rick. Something about this is not right."

"It's like he's trying something," Lisa added. "I say we watch what goes on and if he reaches out to us about reinforcements, we go from there."

"Agreed. We're not committing to anything as of yet. Besides, the Colonel has more than enough forces down there." The Admiral looked at Rick and Lisa. "I think that will be all for now. I need to talk to Monument about this development."

The two officers saluted and left the office, making their way back towards their respective wings.

"I'm going to talk to the kids and let them know what's going on," Rick stated as they walked down the hallway. Stopping right before the hallways split, Rick turned towards Lisa and drew in close to her.

"I should be about another hour. Then, I want to go home, fall asleep with you, and forget today ever happened."

Lisa smiled. "I'm in agreement on that, Flyboy. Let me know when you get done." She leaned over and kissed him as she turned the hallway towards her office.

Rick smiled as he watched her head down the hallway. __Even if things go off the rails, at least I have her to rely on.__

* * *

Aboard an RDF transport somewhere over the Caribbean, Colonel Anatole Leonard turned towards a fellow passenger on the flight and smiled.

"Everything is all set. Operation Southern Cross is slated to begin as soon as we arrive. The Council, as you know, gave its full approval this afternoon."

"Works for me," the passenger stated. "Kind of fortunate that the Zents decided to get a bit frisky right as we left."

"That was something I didn't expect to happen," Leonard added. "However, if the Xeroxes want to start the fight, I'll be more than happy to finish it for them," punctuating his comment with a term that had evolved into a slur towards Zentraedis.

"And the other aspects of the operation?"

"Those will be implemented in due time, my friend. Right now, our biggest concern is getting our forces in order." Leonard picked up a file and leafed through it, smiling. "I think we have ample down there to teach them some respect. They just need some better motivation. I'm sure you can help with that, Raven."

"All well and good, sir," Raven stated with a smile. "I don't think the Admiral took your news about going over his head very well."

Leonard laughed. "No, he did not. At least Monument stands with me on this particular issue. They felt it was too risky of a situation to wait things out and then react. A decisive move was needed. Besides, if we do well on this operation, it will make a better case for returning to Macross, this time as the commander of the base."

"Sir, you do remember you're about third or fourth on the command chain there. There will be Hunter and Hayes to deal with as well."

"They are of no concern. They'll either play ball or be swept aside."

"And knowing those two, they'll remain loyal to the Admiral."

"Well, it looks like Macross Command will probably need a new XO and CAG, then." Leonard lit up a cigarette and smiled. "Henry's time has passed and it's about to be my time."

"That is, if things go well in South America," Raven added with a dark smile.

"Of that, my friend, I have no doubts."

* * *

Back in New Macross, the __Dezanchaates__ section of the city located just south of the Downtown district was well known as the area of the city where most Micronized Zentraedi had settled over the past few years. In turn, the neighborhood took on the Tirolian term for "fragment," which led the Micronians nearby to call it "The Frag." In one non-descript house in the middle of the section, three Zentraedi were watching the events unfolding in Buenos Aires with a mix of concern, anger, and puzzlement.

"What in the blazes was Nadtal thinking getting our people incited like that?" Xamdar watched with growing anger as the situation airing live on the TV set looked to be deteriorating further. "The Micronians are bound to react and it's going to throw things off."

"I don't think he had anything to do with this," Pyoto shot back. "This is concerning to say the least, but I don't think he told our kind to rise in this manner. This looks to be organically occurring."

"He's what the Micronians call a loose cannon, Pyoto."

"Maybe, but this doesn't seem like something we would do in this manner. If he was to be orchestrating this, he would be mounting a number of attacks in the style we learned going over the archives. Not this mindless protesting."

Quazmin had been taking in the scenes and thinking over what the other two were discussing. Tiring of the back and forth between Xamdar and Pyoto, he decided to speak.

"Wouldn't contacting Nadtal be the best course of action here? I'm sure he would be able to clear this up. If he did initiate this, we can take the proper measures. If not, we can work together on what to do next and maybe exploit the situation to our advantage."

The other two nodded. Pyoto swiftly took out a communicator and tapped in a code. On the screen, an image of Nadtal came up.

"I was wondering when you would contact me, Pyoto," Nadtal answered. "As the information blasts are reporting, the situation here is evolving by the second. Our people are rising on their own."

"So you didn't orchestrate this?"

Nadtal shook his head. "No, I just arrived in the settlement the Micronians call 'Sao Paulo' last week. This is going on quite a distance away in another settlement. Buenos Aires, to be exact. It's in a totally different quadrant and I've yet to talk to our assets down there."

"What is the current disposition of our kind in the quadrant you are in?"

"Right now, it's tense. Nothing is happening as of yet. Our warriors are definitely concerned and more than a few have expressed interest in joining our brothers in Buenos Aires. For now, I am instructing caution and seeing what may happen next there. I may have to make my way there at some point to get a better feel of the situation."

"If I heard correctly," Xamdar interjected. "The Micronians are sending one of their top commanders, a Colonel Leonard, down there. You may want to have the warriors get ready if the rumors of how Leonard feels about Zentraedis are true."

Nadtal paused for a second. "That is a cause of concern. He is a formidable foe and fights like a Zentraedi."

"It could also mean potential problems for our kind down there as we don't know what he's capable of," Pyoto added.

Quazmin looked over and smiled. "I would advise caution, Nadtal. Our foes are liable to make a mistake. Once they do, pounce on it. But, until then, hold back and keep up your intel. Also, you may want to go to this 'Buenos Aires' a bit sooner than planned." He looked to the other two and got a nod back from Pyoto. Xamdar didn't react, something that Quazmin took note of. __Don't like my ideas? Too bad. You're also not running the operation.__

"As you command. Should we reach out to the Asteroid and alert them?"

"Not yet. The situation appears to be fluid right now. Once we have an idea of what is going on, we will inform them that we are going ahead and as to why we are."

Nadtal nodded and the screen went blank.

"You know you're violating Khyron's orders by giving him the okay to proceed," Xamdar said with a bit of an edge.

"Please, Xamdar, knowing Khyron as I do, he would give the go ahead to proceed if events presented themselves."

Pyoto nodded. "I think our friend here has a good handle on the situation."

"As for around here," Xamdar opined. "What are we to do, sit back?"

Quazmin shot Xamdar a look. "Yes. On that point, we're not going against Khyron's wishes. It's quiet here, so why, as our guests say, make waves and draw attention to ourselves without a good reason?" _However, if you want to go off on a fool's errand, feel free to do so, Xamdar,_ he added silently. _If the Micronians were to end you again, I wouldn't be all that upset. No wonder Lord Khyron questioned even bringing you back in the first place._

"Maybe to stand up for our kind," Xamdar muttered.

"Quazmin's right, Xamdar," Pyoto shot back. "We all want revenge, but drawing attention to ourselves and bringing down the RDF upon our heads for no reason is not a way to go about this. We wait."

The three Zentraedi went back to monitoring the ongoing crisis in South America on the news feed, taking in whatever information they could from the images and from the reporting by the Micronian information services.

Xamdar brooded over the course of action that appeared to be taken. __Khyron's orders or not, I will not be denied my revenge. The sooner we can go ahead and get the operations started here, the sooner I can eradicate Hunter and Hayes. And unlike me, there's no chance they can come back.__ He then looked over at Quazmin. __A clone of Khyron or not, you should know your place. If something were to happen and you were damaged, I would not shed very many tears.__

Pyoto looked over at Xamdar and frowned. _It's rather ironic that you called Nadtal a 'loose cannon,' old friend_ _ _. I cannot allow for this. Khyron gave me specific orders to end your life if you strayed off the path. I do not relish carrying out those orders, but I will if I have to. And somehow, I don't think Lord Khyron would be too upset if that did occur.__

* * *

Back at the house they shared, Rick and Lisa prepared for bed after what had been a very interesting day. The TV in the bedroom was on the news channel as both were getting the latest about the ongoing situation in South America.

"It looks like things aren't getting much better," Rick stated. The pictures on the screen told the story as more cars and shops were on fire and Zentraedi were in pitched battles with riot police. "Leonard is going to see this and call out a few divisions to sweep the streets."

Lisa nodded. "And that could make the situation worse. It would be a bloodbath, not to mention it may cause flare ups in other cities. I heard that most of the quadrant capitals are on high alert down there."

"Anatole would be right at home in that," Rick joked darkly. "Think we'll get shipped down there? I mean, he's got about fifteen squadrons of fighters down there based between Maracana, La Plata, and Murumbi."

"You probably shouldn't," Lisa reassured Rick. "I'm guessing it got brought up at the Skull briefing?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah, it did. They understand it may happen, but nobody is looking forward to it. Mostly because of Leonard. I don't look forward to it either, mostly because I remember how well New Detroit went."

Lisa curled up next to Rick, using his shoulder as a pillow. "I doubt the Admiral would send you guys there. I wouldn't send you there either, not because you're living with me, but because it makes no sense. Why strip assets here and have things flare up in New Macross or Monument?"

"True," Rick said. "Just another case of waiting and seeing."

He grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, then turned towards Lisa.

"Good night, Forever Girl," he said as he kissed her on the forehead.

"Good night, Flyboy," she responded as she returned the favor.

As he drifted off to sleep, Rick replayed some of the day's events, stopping at the conversation between Admiral Gloval and Colonel Leonard.

 _ _You're up to something, Anatole. I don't trust you, and I doubt Lisa or Admiral Gloval do either.__

* * *

 ** _A/N -_** _So, this marks the end of the opening "set-up" chapters for our little saga. Next chapter will get us into the thick of things as events begin to evolve in a way nobody expects. Lets just say that one tiny spark can start a huge fire._

 _Also, as an aside, the song referenced is "Come A Little Closer" by Cage The Elephant. It was the song that was on in the background when I wrote the chapter in DBTD when Rick finally decided to man-up and let Lisa know how he felt. If I were to do a soundtrack for the fic, it would have made the cut as it's become the "Rick & Lisa" song._

 ** _New Author's Note (3/18/18)_** _\- Made some changes within the story as to a character reference. Makes sense going forward._


	5. Ch 5 - The Spark That Lights The Flame

****Chapter Five - The Spark That Lights The Flame****

 _Seven long months have passed._

 _The tense situation in the South American quadrants had not lessened in its intensity, even if there was little direct action going on. With the arrival of RDF Ground Forces Colonel Anatole Leonard shortly after the Buenos Aires Riots started, the RDF forces had been quickly deployed and assisted with the local police forces in pushing the Zentraedi rioters back into the_ _ _barrios__ _and_ _ _favelas__ _they called home. The rioting had lessened over time as the forces employed by Leonard had standing orders to shoot any troublemakers, and the police had been emboldened by their reinforcements to reassert themselves. As one observer put it, '_ _ _it wasn't too tough to be brave when you had a platoon of Destroids as your backup.'__ _A sort of tense_ _ _detente__ _settled over places such as Buenos Aires, Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and other major cities in the South American quadrants._

 _However, the discontent was still there among the Zentraedi citizens and the treatment they were receiving. Combined with heavy restrictions placed on the Zentraedi populations in these quadrants, and the severe treatment they received from the local_ _ _policia__ _and (on occasion) the RDF, the situation was not, as Colonel Leonard had been reporting, lessening by any stretch of the imagination._

 _The mood in New Macross and Monument was not much better as the news reports filtered in about the situations in South America. This led to a sharp rise in tensions in those locations as well. Although the Malcontents in those areas were not active, they were biding their time, waiting for the moment to re-emerge and bring back the fear and terror they had sewn not too long ago. Those at Macross Command were acutely aware of the rising tensions, trying to keep tabs on the increasingly bleak situation to the south and the rising tensions in their own back yard._

 _It was, as another observer put it, a situation where one tiny spark would touch off a firestorm that had not been seen in years._

* * *

The sun rose over the sprawling city of Buenos Aires, bathing it in its warming light. As the sun began its climb up the daytime sky, the hustle and bustle of the city began to pick up in earnest across the winding avenues and streets as the citizens went about their business. In the __barrios__ off in the outskirts of the main downtown areas, the day began again for the Zentraedi that called the city home. The curfews that had been put in place months earlier were still in place and most of the neighborhoods had local police patrolling the boundaries. In that regard, it was a step down as before it had been RDF ground troops that had manned these posts, only to be recently called back as tensions had been assumed to be dying down.

In the San Rafael __barrio__ , two Zentraedi made their way from the neighborhood after passing through a police checkpoint. After a brief conversation, the two ended up being waved through relatively quickly by the guards. Heading past the checkpoint, the two began to walk towards the city center, looking as if they were making their way to work. Both were dressed in the manner and fashion of two supporters of the many football teams that called the metropolis home, which was unsurprising as the season was well underway and one of the better supported teams in the city played in the downtown area.

After advancing a bit further from the checkpoint, one turned to the other and smiled.

"It appears we were able to trick them," one stated.

"For now, Alondo, for now," the other stated flatly. "The Micronians are not as foolish as we take them for, but some are more corrupt than others. And those two Micronians back there were some of the more corrupt ones I speak of. I was able to slip a few payment credits their way so as to not check my backpack this morning." Looking ahead, the Zentraedi looked at a busy street ahead. The activity was expected as it was one of the main routes towards the downtown area of the large city. Spotting a bunch of Micronians passing by wearing the same shirts as they were, Alondo smiled. __This was a perfect disguise Nadtal picked out,__ he thought. __Personally, I prefer the training drill the Micronians call 'rugby' to this 'football', but I'm also not the one in charge of this operation.__

"I can assume as to what is in the backpack, Nadtal?" Alondo questioned.

Nadtal gave a quick nod. "Yes, I got the word from the ship last night from Fiago. We are to proceed with the operation as ordered. It will be the opening salvo in breaking the hold the Micronians have on our warriors and it will also eliminate one of the thorns in our side in the process."

Looking at the backpack, a feral grin came over Nadtal's face. "The RDF has been lulled into a false sense of security and we shall strike hard with our first blow. Especially with what the information streams have been reporting."

"To say it's what the Micronians would call a 'golden opportunity' is overstating it, Nadtal," Alondo added, echoing his counterpart's grin. Glancing at his phone, he nodded. "We're about three kilometers from where we need to be. We wouldn't want to be late, now would we?"

The two continued down the bustling street, moving towards a parking area for one of the many luxury high-rise apartment buildings in the area of the city known as __La Milla Del Oro.__ It was one building they were looking for out of the dozens that stood alongside the road heading towards the central square and towards the government buildings that surrounded it. As they walked down the sidewalk, to any of the others that passed by, it appeared that Nadtal was checking his cellphone for a text or was checking yesterday's scores in the __Apetura__. However, he was verifying that he and his companion were nearing their destination.

"Turn right at the next intersection and head down about three hundred meters," he said to Alondo. "Our target is there."

They ducked down a small alleyway located behind one of the massive buildings and looked down the side. Looking down towards the right, there was another man in a black suit standing by a doorway, casually smoking a cigarette and looking off to the side. Turning towards the two at the front of the alley, the man smiled and motioned to them to come towards. As they arrived, Nadtal and Alondo smiled as they recognized the man standing outside. The man gazed at his watch.

"You're two minutes late," he stated to the two as they arrived.

"Damned __policia__ were a bit extra frisky this morning," Nadtal grumbled. "However, our cover was good."

Alondo nodded. "They thought we were going to the big football match downtown. Probably were thinking we were in a hurry to get there."

The other man laughed. "The talk around the office here was about that. Not that I care personally."

Nadtal turned towards the other man and smiled. "Is everything all in readiness, Cryndor?"

Cryndor nodded. "That it is. Our target is still eating right now, but he sent me to get his car ready. We have about ten minutes to get everything set." He tossed the cigarette aside and pulled open the door. "Follow me."

The three entered through the door and found themselves in an underground parking garage. Moving briskly through the packed area, the three made their way towards the back of the area and towards a dark blue sedan. Nadtal took a quick look at the plates on the car and looked over at Cryndor, who nodded. Motioning towards Alondo, he smiled. "This is the one. Bring our gift for our friend."

Alondo stepped forward and slid the backpack off his back. Opening it up quickly, he reached into the main pouch and pulled a device that looked like a brownish block with some wires and a cellphone attached to it. Moving swiftly, Alondo went underneath the car and attached the device to the gas tank of the sedan. Popping back out with a smile he looked over at both Nadtal and Cryndor.

"Everything is all set," Alondo said while dusting himself off.

Cryndor glanced at his watch again. "I should get back to work before I'm missed." He reached inside and turned on the car's ignition. "I'll contact you when the vehicle is in position."

Nadtal nodded. "You will want to get clear of the area once the vehicle is in position. I would figure at least one block away would be ample."

Cryndor nodded. "I figure I can use the excuse of getting a coffee to my favor to slip away," he stated with a smile. Turning towards the other two, he saluted with an arm across his chest and his fist at his heart. The gesture was returned by Nadtal and Alondo.

"You can slip back out the way we came in," Cyrndor stated. "I made sure the surveillance cameras were shut off. Nobody outside of the three of us will ever know who was here and put the device in place." With that, Nadtal and Alondo started on their way back towards the side entrance.

Checking the alley, Nadtal and Alondo made sure they had not been spotted. Making their way back to the main avenue, they smiled. Reaching into his pocket, Nadtal pulled out a small communicator and turned it on.

"Fiago, everything is in order. Our little package is being delivered as we speak."

"Excellent," the tinny voice came back on the other side. "I will let our friends at the asteroid and in Macross know everything is proceeding."

Nadtal nodded. On the other end, Fiago continued.

"Cryndor knows what to do, correct?"

"Yes. He knows he is to be a sacrifice to the greater cause. He will contact us once the target is in the transport. Once he does, we will send the detonation code through once he is in transit."

"Excellent. Have the warriors await for our signal to proceed with the next phase. We shall let the Micronians make the next move on this."

"Understood," Nadtal responded with an evil smile. "Today, this world will burn with our vengeance."

* * *

Cryndor slid behind the wheel of the car and watched as the others made their way out in the rear view mirror. After about a minute, he pulled the car out of the spot and started driving. Looking around as the car reached the exit, he checked the traffic. As soon as the coast was clear, he pulled out into the busy avenue and headed towards the main downtown area.

Behind him, a tall, gaunt man rose from the back and settled back in the seat. Out of the corner of his vision, Cryndor caught a glimpse of his passenger and found himself unsettled by the eye patch that covered over an older injury. The man in the back of the car was one of the higher ranking intelligence officers among the RDF command in Buenos Aires. Twirling his mustache for a semi-dramatic effect, the man smiled broadly.

"You did well, _amigo_ ," Lieutenant Gabriel Ortega stated with a wry grin.

A scowl came over Cryndor's face. "I'm not your friend, Ortega. I'm only doing this because of the information you showed me. It was just coincidence that Nadtal and the others were planning this move."

"Well, there's no need to be cross about it," Ortega responded. "Besides, with what I know is about to happen today, you'll be thanking me later, _hermano_. Your friends just gave an excuse to proceed with things. And you know very well that I knew that this little act was going to happen. You really need to teach your friends about hiding their moves a bit better."

Ortega, to his credit, had been able to find out about this attempt on an unnamed member of the Colonel's staff relatively quickly, thanks to some key sources that were in the __barrios__ around Buenos Aires. Digging a bit further, he found that ****he**** was to be the target of the assassination attempt. __To be honest, I should be honored,__ he thought as the car continued on its way. __It's not every day you make the Zentraedi's Hit List.__ He had duly notified Colonel Leonard of this news, but his new commanding officer had a much different idea on how to handle it. Rather than just go and round up the plotters with all due speed, Leonard had instructed him to let the plot go forward, but with some minor changes.

 _ _And minor changes I did make, Colonel,__ Ortega thought. __Just a few that aren't expected. In light of what I know now, I think my adjustments may do some good for now.__

"It's a pity your beloved Colonel won't be the recipient of this gift from my people," Cryndor said with a touch of spite. "Or you for that matter."

"Now, now, now, we can't have that, Cryndor," Ortega said. "As abhorrent as the Colonel is, we do need him to stay alive for a while." He then cracked a bit of a grin before continuing. "Besides, your friends don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to these kind of little adventures. Khyron and Dolza did think the same way, and look what it got them. As for killing me? I would highly suggest not doing that. Face it, you are going to need whatever friends you can find shortly. And right now, I'm the only one you can possibly trust."

A dark look came over Cryndor. He thought of a biting remark to make, but thought the better of it. __This Micronian is correct,__ he thought. __Both Lord Dolza and Lord Khyron took too many chances and it cost us in the end. It would have been much different if Breetai had been in command. But even he saw that this was all folly and threw his lot with the Micronians.__ He thought of the current plan and realized that much like the other attempts, it probably would end in the same manner as the other attempts to defeat the Micronians. __They figured out what we were up to rather quickly,__ he thought further. __It was almost as if this was supposed to be sniffed out by the Micronians.__ _ _If so, it's a master stroke of a move. However, seeing our best strategic minds are either already aligned with the Micronians or dead, I doubt this is the case.__ As hard as it had been for Cryndor to give up the information once Ortega had cornered him about a few days prior, he also realized more and more it may have been the wiser choice, especially in light of what was hinted would be in store if this went through.

It was just then that the car arrived at its destination. One of the MP's stationed at the entrance waved the car through to the below-ground parking area. Pulling the car in, Cryndor and Ortega exited and made their way towards the entrance.

One thought went through Cryndor's mind as he walked with the Lieutenant.

 _ _I hope I made the right choice.__

* * *

The large building, dubbed __La Casa del Sol Naciente__ , was the main home for the UEG's governmental features for the Argentine Quadrant. Also, with it being the home of the largest conference area on the continent, it was commonly used for major meetings between the various governors in this part of the UEG's burgeoning expanses. Today was no different as a major meeting between the governors and the RDF's main commander was to take place in the main hall. On the table to be discussed was the final implementation of a plan that the new RDF commander had brought with him when he had relocated to the city nearly seven months prior. The controversial plan, known as Southern Cross, had yet to be fully rolled out, but the governors that were assembled saw this as another attempt of the military to overstep their bounds, as they saw it. What the governors didn't realize was that fate had another plan in store for them.

Inside of the main hall, the governors of all the quadrants of South and Central America assembled around the main table. Two large viewscreens were also in use as members of the Senate, namely the powerful Senator Ulysses Russo, and the military's top representative, Colonel Anatole Leonard, were discussing the proposal made to implement Southern Cross.

"With all due respect, Senator," stated Governor Almarez of the Peruvian Quadrant. "I do not see how a plan as such can lead to what the Colonel characterized as 'harmony amongst our peoples'. This plan seems a bit heavy handed."

"Governor Almarez," the Senator responded with a smile. "I did share the same concerns, but after talking to Colonel Leonard, I know he has the best interests of our guests in mind."

"Right now, Pedro," Colonel Leonard answered, using the Governor's first name. "The Zents are holed up in the various __barrios__ and __favelas__ around the major cities. This plan, this would allow them some breathing space and give us some breathing space as well as it would cut down on tensions."

"Of course, I cannot understand as to why Pedro is complaining so much," commented Governor Soares of the Brazilian Quadrant. "My quadrant has the most room, so it will be there that the c _ _ópias__ will be ending up. Am I right, Colonel?"

"Well, that does go to say, Governor," Leonard replied. "However, there's other areas that have a lot of room as well. We also are looking at some spots in the Mexican Quadrant and also here in the Patagonia area of the Argentine Quadrant as well."

"Makes sense," Governor Pinella of the Mexican Quadrant sniffed. "We'll be the destination for the __Norteamericanos__ as well."

"Not so," Senator Russo chimed in. "It will be tested exclusively with the Zentraedi in the Central and South American quadrants only for now. It will not be rolled out anywhere else as of yet."

Colonel Leonard nodded. "The Senator is correct. For now, it's just here. There's not as many Zentraedi as we suspected in the quadrants. Maybe three hundred thousand at the most between all twenty quadrants."

"But the logistics of moving them," commented the Governor of the Venezuelan Quadrant, a shorter man named Zendejas. "That's not going to be cheap."

"And you'll need to get them to go along with that. A lot of them are attached to the __favelas__ they call home, Colonel," Soares added. "You may face what you saw when you came here a few months ago, but on a much larger scale."

"I can assure you, that won't be a problem," Colonel Leonard said with a bit of a smile. "I have some very persuasive arguments I can make to our friends."

"Like a full battalion of Destroids with orders to shoot to kill," muttered Soares under his breath.

"Rest assured, my friends," Senator Russo chimed in, noticing that the situation was about to get more acrimonious. "The Council would not have approved the measure if it felt it would cause more harm than good."

"Easy for you to say in Monument, Senator," Zendejas added with a bit of acidity in his tone. "You're not on the front lines here. The Colonel would even see that and he should know it would be causing more trouble than it may be worth."

"Do you want peace or do you want the same tensions to keep rising, Governor? It may be peaceful now, but all it can take is one incident with the police having a moment of insanity to touch off the next riot," Leonard shot back. "I saw that first hand when I got here with the riots in this city. This is the only way we can proceed and have the cities be under less tension. I'm not going to mince words. We're sitting on a powder keg and all it will take to touch it off is one spark."

Leonard turned towards the side and saw something out of the corner. He lit up a cigarette and smiled.

"Now, we can do this my way, and ensure the peace. Or we can do it your way and have the threat hanging over our heads. It's up to you how to proceed." At his office, he nodded towards a private screen he had open with Russo. Turning back to the main screen, he smiled without any sort of friendliness behind it. "If you will excuse me, gentlemen. Something just came up that needs my immediate attention."

With that, his screen and the screen with Senator Russo went dark, leaving the Governors to discuss the matter further.

* * *

As the screens to the conference room went blank, in Colonel Leonard's office, the screen came back alive, this time with Senator Russo front and center.

"Well, that went well," Russo stated sarcastically. "They don't seem very willing to cooperate."

Leonard took a drag off of his cigarette and expelled the smoke with a grin on his face. "Well, Senator, as I said, I'm very persuasive when I have to be. And I think I may have to be now. They'll come around, one way or another."

"Just make this happen, Colonel," Russo said. "I have a lot riding on this."

"Don't worry, Ulysses," Leonard responded with a wry grin. "You'll never know want again after all of this. I'll be in touch when our friends have seen the light."

With that, he broke the communication and looked at one of the screens nearby. Reading over the report, a wry smile came across Leonard's face.

 _ _Well, at this point the fools can keep on debating. Events are about to overlap them.__

Leonard reached over and hit a button the control panel. The intercom came alive.

"Our friends just brought their package over," the voice came back.

"Good."

"Understood. And the delivery boys?"

"They are no longer any use to us. Ortega is to give his life to the greater cause. As for the Xerox that drove him over, one less roaming around is always a good thing."

"Understood."

The intercom went dead. Tapping at another button at his control panel, a slight hum came across and the voice of another unidentified man came up.

"Your orders, sir?" the voice answered.

An evil smile came across the face of Colonel Leonard. "Raven, Plan Hydra is a go. Get your men in position and wait for my signal."

"Yes, sir!"

The intercom went dead again. Leonard sat back in his seat and smiled as he took one final puff off of the cigarette before putting it out in the ashtray on the desk.

 _ _Remember that spark I spoke of? Well, it's about to be lit.__

* * *

Inside of the main concourse of the building, Lieutenant Ortega checked the time on his phone. As he placed his phone back into his pocket, he turned towards Cryndor.

"Time for us to go."

Cryndor gulped a bit. "But we'll be spotted."

"No we won't. And believe me, we will want to be as far away from here as possible."

The two made their way towards the elevators and down to the parking area below. Getting off at a different floor, Ortega and Cryndor walked towards another car. Ortega pulled out the keys and tapped on one of the buttons, disarming the alarm and identifying the car to the two. Cryndor got behind the wheel while Ortega sat down in the back.

"Now, drive casually," Ortega explained calmly. "No rush and no need to draw any attention towards ourselves."

"But you said we wouldn't be spotted!" Cryndor shot back.

"We won't," Ortega snapped back. "As long as you don't panic, we'll be fine. Just drive."

After a brief stop at the checkpoint, the vehicle was waved through by the MP's on duty and was out on the main avenue, heading away from the complex.

"So what now?" Cryndor asked.

"Well, if the Colonel said it correctly, your role in this whole drama has ended. Well, outside of contacting your friends."

A shudder of fear went down the spine of the normally unflappable Cryndor. __So, this is how it ends,__ he thought. _He_ _ _could be armed, but I'm also at the wheel of the car. What's to say I don't suddenly mistake the gas for the brake and barrel into another transport or into something a bit harder. I may die, but I can take him with me...__

"However, there's been a change in plans," Ortega said with a grin. "You're far more useful alive than dead. We'll just have to have the Colonel believe you are no longer among the living." _Besides,_ Ortega thought to himself, _if I can do it, I think I can also hide this Zent. Going to have to call in a few favors though._

"How..how...how will you manage to do that?"

"I have ways, Cryndor, I have ways." Ortega handed Cryndor a piece of paper with an address. Nodding, the Zentraedi drove towards one of the expressways that formed a ring around the city and headed towards the north and west.

* * *

Back at the main conference hall, the discussion between the governors had not abated while Colonel Leonard and Senator Russo had disappeared on the screens in front of them. Discussions between the assembled heads of the quadrants on the merits of Southern Cross continued in varying degrees of animation. To an outside observer, it appeared that the one thing the governors could agree on was that the plan was not going to be implemented.

Just then, one of the screens came back alive and the vision of Colonel Leonard came back up.

"Sorry about that, gentlemen. One of my lieutenants had some information about something going on in one of the __barrios__ over in Rosario. I think we have it under control now. Now, where were we?"

Governor Carbajal, head of the Chilean Quadrant stood up.

"Colonel, on behalf of all the governors here, we will be recommending to the Council that we will not be going ahead with Southern Cross as you outlined. It will lead to even worse problems for our police forces and for the RDF forces in place here. Furthermore, we will be recommending that you be asked to return to Macross immediately and let Colonel Goncalves return to his role as head of the RDF forces here in South America. We will not be browbeaten by a madman into agreeing to a badly thought out plan that would lead to anarchy in our streets!"

Colonel Leonard frowned at this news. Casually lighting up a cigarette, he looked towards the assembled men. Behind them, the governors never noticed the four men clad in black that had walked in behind them.

"Well, I'm truly sorry you feel that way. There's only one thing I can do in this situation."

He tapped a button on the console. Behind the governors, the doors clicked ominously. It was followed by the four black clad men leveling semi-automatic rifles with noise suppressors attached to the barrels. On the screen, Leonard took a long drag off his cigarette and expelled the smoke with an evil smile.

"Raven, execute Plan Hydra."

The sounds of automatic gunfire echoed throughout the room as the unarmed and trapped men were mowed down one at a time by the four others. Within a few minutes, the gunfire stopped and all twenty of the governors lay dead in expanding pools of blood beneath them. One of the black clad men looked over at the viewscreen and saluted.

"Excellent work, Raven," Leonard stated with a grin. "Get your men clear and meet back at base. I may have some more work for you soon."

A quick salute and nod followed as the screen went dead briefly, only to be replaced by a recording of the now dead governors in discussion. Undeterred by the carnage around them, the four changed into RDF MP uniforms and disposed of the black coveralls in a side closet. Locking the doors behind them, they headed towards the exits, unnoticed by anyone that saw them. To anyone that had walked by the conference room, they would only assume the governors were deep in discussion and did not want to be disturbed, not knowing what actually was behind the door.

* * *

In the car, Ortega felt his phone vibrate. Indicating to Cryndor to remain silent, he answered.

"Yes? Everything on my end has been taken care of. I will send the code as requested." It was at this point that Cryndor looked and could have sworn the color drained from Ortega's face upon what he heard. Quickly composing himself, Ortega continued with the call. "Understood, sir. I'll be heading back towards base shortly."

Ortega tapped in a quick sequence of numbers and hit the send button. Looking at the very nervous Zentraedi behind the wheel through the rear-view mirror, he took a deep breath and then cracked a very humorless smile.

"Well, events have escalated and not in a way I predicted. This definitely escalated quickly."

"You just agreed to set off the bomb for that madman you call a colonel! How much more can it escalate?"

Ortega laughed. "Your bomb is just a diversion. There's a much bigger bomb already in place at the hall. One that will get pinned on your friends. That much I found out today. Initially, I thought the plan was to just have the smaller bomb go off and Leonard would have his ready made excuse to push forward. That code I sent will route the signal that was to go to the little bomb to another phone instead. Once he gets that code, he will let the larger bomb do his work for him."

Cryndor's eyes widened. Ortega sat back and continued.

"However, the Colonel ran into some resistance. Namely the governors. They appear as if they weren't on the same page as him. So, he just upped the ante in a big way."

The realization of what was about to happen dawned on Cryndor. __This lunatic means to kill all the quadrant governors!__ Turning around to his passenger, Cryndor stated plainly. "We have to stop this lunacy!"

Ortega shook his head. "It's already way too late to stop anything, Cryndor," he said with a sense of sadness. "The Colonel already took care of that at the Government House."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I was also supposed to dispose of you and martyr myself as well seeing Leonard didn't want any loose ends. However, I cannot go along with that. Or his plans for that matter."

Cryndor gulped before asking his next question. "Dare I ask what his exact plans are? You only hinted at things."

"I'll reveal that in due time, Cryndor. Right now, I need to figure out what the next step is." Checking the surroundings, Ortega broke into a broad grin. _Should have done this a lot earlier,_ he thought. Noticing a large building up ahead, he motioned to Cryndor quickly.

"Stop at that church!"

Cryndor stopped the car as suggested in front of the large cathedral. "This is a strange time to get a case of religion, Lieutenant," the puzzled Zentraedi shot back. "You Micronians are an odd lot."

The Lieutenant merely shrugged as he got out of the car. "You have a lot to learn, _mi amigo_. Come on, and try not to look too suspicious."

Cryndor could only nod at this suggestion. _What sort of mess have I gotten myself into?_ _,_ he thought to himself as he watched his new companion walk through the main entrance. He found himself following along inside of the impressive structure.

Inside of the cathedral's main hall, Ortega spotted a small row of boxes off to the side. Picking one closer to the entrance, he made his way towards one. Turning back towards the Zentraedi, Ortega handed over a phone. "You may want to let your pals know everything is all set, or else they're going to think something went wrong." With that, the Lieutenant entered one of the boxes and shut the door.

Taking a deep sigh, Cryndor went ahead punched in a well-rehearsed number into the phone, muttering something about how the certain situation he had gotten himself into was getting worse by the second.

* * *

On one of the avenues in the center of Buenos Aires, two men sat in an outdoor patio area of a pub, appearing to be paying close attention to an ongoing football match on the TV. However, the attention of one of the men was broken when his phone lit up with what appeared to be a text message. Looking down, Nadtal smiled and turned to his companion.

"Alondo, that was Cryndor. Our present is in position." He glanced at the time on the phone. __If he messaged, he should be clear of the blast area.__ Taking a deep breath, Nadtal picked up another device and opened it.

"Fiago, everything is set. Shall we proceed?"

The figure on the small screen nodded.

"Strength and honor, Nadtal. Let our vengeance speak loudly."

"That it shall, Fiago. That it shall."

He closed the device and nodded to Alondo. With a smile, Alondo took out a smaller phone and tapped in a rehearsed code and hit send.

* * *

Inside of his office, Colonel Leonard smiled as the phone sitting next to him lit up. __Fools don't even realize we were able to crack the code on the 'present' they left us and it routed the call here instead of to what they were intending.__ Lighting up another cigarette, Leonard sat back and looked towards the sky. __And now, it begins,__ he thought. __Nothing will stop me now.__ He looked at the conference room one last time before proceeding. __Your lack of vision has you all in this current state, amigos. Should have played ball. You'd be reaping the rewards. Now, all you'll do is see the light very shortly. Well, you would be seeing the light if you weren't all dead.__ With a smile, he pulled out another device and tapped on a button. A short timer came up and counted down from thirty. With that he shut off the viewscreen and sat back, waiting for the first panicked call to come in.

* * *

Back at the underground parking, inside of the trunk of another vehicle parked close to the one planted by Nadtal and his allies, an ominous silver cylinder began to hum. On the front of the cylinder, a digital timer began a swift countdown from thirty. As it reached ten, the cylinder began to glow very brightly. By the time it had hit five, the light was pouring out of the trunk itself and a loud hum began to come through the parking level. Once the timer hit zero, everything was enveloped in a bright white light and began to break apart in the bright glow.

For a brief second, the __Casa del Sol Naciente__ was bathed in the same bright white light as the parking area underneath, much like it was the rising sun itself. A split second later, a massive concussion wave and heat blast put forth what had exactly happened underneath the formidable building. The ensuing explosion ripped apart a whole city block, reducing the once mighty edifice into a pile of smoking rubble. The sound of the explosion could be heard throughout the city and the resulting debris cloud could be seen as far away as Montevideo in the Uruguayan Quadrant.

As the sound of the explosion drifted further away, a new sound replaced it. That of terrified screaming and sirens.

The sound of the explosion was felt dramatically at the pub Nadtal and Alondo were sitting at. They looked at one another and towards the large debris cloud that had rocketed into the sky around the area of the Government Center.

"Was it strong enough to do _**that**_?" Alondo stated.

"No, Alondo! It shouldn't have done that!" Nadtal shouted. "The sooner we get clear of here, the better! We need to get back to the __barrio__ before they lock it down!"

The two Zentraedi wasted no time leaving, drifting into the stampede of citizens looking to get as far from the blast as possible.

* * *

Inside of the church, Lieutenant Ortega sat in front of a screen, biding his time. As the screen slid open, he recited a line well rehearsed over the years.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been two months and five days since my last confession."

A voice came from behind the screen.

"It has been a while, my son. What sins do you wish to confess to?"

It was at that moment a loud rumble could be heard followed by shaking. Immediately after that, the sound of warning sirens began to blare outside.

"Well, Father," Ortega deadpanned, "I think someone else has some serious sins to confess to."

"Indeed, my child. I think it may be time for us to do the Lord's work. Go forth and be that salvation for the sinners out there."

Ortega nodded. "Yes, Father." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thumb drive. "I think the Holy Fathers may want to have a look at this." With that, Ortega slid the drive through a partition to the figure on the other side of the screen.

"Thank you, my son. I will be sure the His Holiness himself gets this. It will be on the next packet out to the monastery. Go in peace, my child."

Ortega crossed himself. "Thank you, Father." With that, he exited the box. Turning towards a stunned Cryndor, he smiled, which only added to the confusion on the face of the Zentraedi as they walked out.

Outside of the church, residents were looking towards the city center and the large plume of smoke that was rising skywards. Loudspeakers were rattling off instructions for citizens to shelter in place for the time being.

"Well, by the sounds of things, I think things just escalated a lot faster than I thought," Ortega mused. "Come on, we need to leave this city before things get sealed off. Now."

"I'm not about to argue with you on that," Cryndor shot back. "Where exactly are we going?"

Ortega tapped on the car's built in GPS and entered an address. "That's for me to know and you to find out, _amigo_. I have some friends that should be able to help. For now, get in the back and stay out of sight. Any Zent wandering around right now is going to be a prime target, friendly or not."

 _Somehow, if that was supposed to be comforting, Lieutenant, it failed,_ Cryndor thought to himself as he and Ortega began their journey out of the city.

* * *

From his view in the heights of the San Rafael barrio, one of the residents looked at the debris cloud hanging over the city center with dismay. The man, sighing deeply, picked up a communicator and punched in a code. The device beeped as it came to life an a tinny voice came over.

"You weren't supposed to report until tomorrow."

"I know," the man answered. "However, the situation has changed drastically. If you want proof, I'd suggest checking the info blasts from the Micronians. I have no idea if Nadtal and Alondo modified the plan or not. They have yet to return."

A short silence followed before the device responded.

"I will have to let the others know of this situation. Once those two get back, find out what exactly went wrong and report in immediately."

"As you command. Also, what steps should we take here? The Micronians are not going to take this lightly."

"Be prepared for anything. However, do not be the ones to strike the first blow. At least not yet."

"Acknowledged. I will alert the others to be on guard."

The communicator went dead. The man put the device back into his pocket and took a deep sigh. _Things are only going to get worse now,_ he thought. _This could be that excuse the Micronians here need to start a new war._ The Zentraedi looked back over at the skyline of Buenos Aires. _If Nadtal and Alondo modified things from what we discussed, this may have gone ahead and made things a lot worse._

It was just then that he spotted Nadtal and Alondo making his way towards his house. Sighing, he made his way from the roof down into the main room of the house just as there was a knock at the door. Opening the door quickly, he motioned for the two to come in and proceeded to shut and lock the door.

The Zentraedi turned towards his counterparts with a cold stare.

"What did you two do? You may have just signed our death warrants!"

Nadtal looked their host and shook his head. "We did not modify a thing! Alondo and I met with Cryndor at the meeting point and had everything in place. That blast should have just killed Ortega and nobody else. There was hardly enough explosive to cause that amount of damage."

"I should know," Alondo stammered. "I was the one that built the device. It was just enough to destroy that transport and nothing more. Izadu, you have to believe us!"

Izadu started to pace a bit and thought. "And how about Cryndor? Has anyone made contact with him?"

Both Nadtal and Alondo shook their heads. "We tried contacting him on our way back, but he has yet to respond," Alondo stated. "He could be caught up in the chaos right now."

"It's possible, but I think we also may have to entertain the fact that he may have been compromised," Izadu said. "The Micronians are good at doing that, especially since they have Breetai's intelligence wing working with them."

Nadtal shook his head again. "But what purpose would destroying their seat of government have?"

Izadu laughed nervously. "Because all their regional governors were having a conference there today. That would be a pretty good excuse for attacking if I were the Micronians." He turned to his two stunned compatriots.

"Congratulations, you just may have started a new war."

* * *

 ** _A/N -_** _Yeah, this one took a serious detour down Dark AF Alley. This one was more focused in on events that would trip off the next big conflict more than anything, so it was more focused down in Buenos Aires as it was on New Macross. Fret not, though, our usual band of heroes returns in the next chapter as they have to deal with the incident down south and the repercussions._

 _ **New Author's Note (3/18/18)** \- Biggest change was with a character originally referenced being changed around. It will definitely make more sense going forward. Also, added some other portions to this and decided to go in a new direction or two as opposed to the original._


	6. Ch 6 - For Every Action

**Chapter Six – For Every Action…**

Far from the unfolding events in South America, the men and women stationed at Macross Command went about their usual routine. Veritech fighters launched out on patrols while the land-based Destroids tromped around the perimeter of the base, keeping a watchful vigil over the city and the surrounding area. Inside the confines of the vast complex, the main buildings bustled with activity and the day-to-day routine of life in the RDF's nerve center. In one of the buildings closest to the hangars, a meeting was taking place in the office of the Commander Air Group between the current holder of that position and three of his most experienced pilots regarding some of the pressing issues on the current agenda.

Captain Rick Hunter sat at his desk, looking over the docket that was sitting in front of him. Just in front of the desk was a small table with a sofa and another chair positioned close to it. Occupying the sofa was Commander Max Stirling, who was the 2nd ranked officer in Skull Squadron behind Rick. However, as events had changed over the past months, Max was taking more of the day-to-day command role for the RDF's most famous air squadron as Rick found himself in a more of an administrative role. Sitting next to Max was Commander Tom Wilcox, who was in charge of Rapier Squadron, arguably the second most decorated squadron in the air wing behind their friends in the Skulls. The chair was occupied by Lieutenant Commander Ben Dixon, number 3 in the Skulls and primary simulation instructor for the Skulls and other squadrons stationed at Macross Command.

 _I can remember those days when I was sitting where Max or Tom or Ben are, waiting to see what sort of day Roy was going to dish out for us,_ Rick mused while leafing through the papers from the docket. _Back then, it was more of a case of going out on patrol and trying not to get ambushed by the Zents out in the middle of space. Now, it's much quieter. And for that, I'm glad._

Finding his voice, Rick began what was an impromptu daily briefing.

"Morning, guys. Figure you'd want an idea of how today is going to go."

Wilcox nodded while taking a sip from the cup of coffee he had brought with him. Placing it on the table, he smiled. "Have a feeling it's going to be like it'll be a lot like the last few months have been. One squad's on patrol, the other's taking runs in the sim with Dixon and Nibs. Lather, rinse, repeat."

"Well, the quiet hasn't been a bad thing," Rick stated back with a smile. "I know it's boring as hell, but it could always be worse."

"True," Ben chimed in. "At least there aren't a bunch of Em Zees trying to raise a ruckus. They've kind of toned down a lot since the Last Ride."

Max nodded in agreement. "Only real issues that have cropped up were those protests back a few months ago after the mess in Buenos Aires. Thankfully we were able to talk the residents in The Frag down after that."

"At least they used signs and banners," Wilcox commented. "They could have used rocks and Molotov Cocktails among other things. Have to admit that we dodged a bullet here. It got much uglier in Monument."

Rick shuddered. Macross Command had been on full alert after the news of the rioting in South America broke. The assimilated Zentraedi in New Macross had been vocal in their anger over the incident the others had referred to, but had not resorted to violence. _Smartest move we did was have the Admiral, Lisa, Miriya, and myself go to The Frag and talk to the residents. It seemed to calm a lot of things down._ He looked up at the ceiling as he recalled events. _However, Monument decided to do things their own way and it got pretty ugly. Decided to put down the protests with a heavy hand instead of actually listening. Didn't make the UEG look all that good, and us by association._ Rick recalled the rioting among the Zentraedi in Monument had lasted for a day or two before it was put down by force. _Also meant The Frag got quite a few more angry residents after that. We actually had to step up patrols a bit for a time even though we had talked to them._

"Sometimes the best weapon we have is the ability to listen," Rick stated calmly.

"Borrowing another one from the better half, Hunter?" Wilcox stated with a smile. Ben and Max also cracked smiles as they knew that was something that would have come from Commodore Lisa Hayes and not Rick.

Even Rick found himself trying to keep from laughing at the well-timed comment. "She's the smart one, remember?"

"Well, she _is_ with you, Rick," Ben cracked. This in turn caused both Wilcox and Max to start laughing.

"Funny, Ben. I could say the same about Nibs too," Rick shot back with a smile and a chuckle. Looking back at the papers on his desk, Rick attempted to get the meeting back on track. "OK, now that we got that out, time for today's docket. Bison and Apache Squadrons have the point today. I already talked with O'Connor and Velasquez earlier and they're doing the usual circles over Macross keeping an eye out for anything," he stated evenly. He then looked over at Wilcox. "Tom, your guys are the stand-by."

"Figured as much," Wilcox drawled. "Seeing it's been pretty quiet, I may have my guys swing over to the pods to keep 'em sharp. That is unless Baker's been messing with them again."

Ben shook his head and muttered something dire about one Jack Baker. "I've told him to keep away from the mainframe unless he wants to be used as a live target when Nibs shows the nuggets the Boomstick Maneuver," he stated with a somewhat evil grin. "You'll be happy to know we finally got the puke smell out of the pods."

"My guys will be happy about that," Wilcox responded with a smile.

Rick looked across and nodded, giving the signal that he wished to continue. "Well, I did get some good news late yesterday from Doctor Koromatsu at the Proving Grounds. It appears they have been able to finally get that missile launch bug under control." There was a bit more as to the why with the bug than Rick let on. _Can't really reveal any Code Red level intel, even to these guys,_ Rick thought. _Besides, if I said anything about what the actual cause was, it'd do a lot more harm than good._

"About damn time," Wilcox stated. "Only took seven months to get that ironed out. Guess that means the VF-4 is going live soon?"

Rick cracked a broad smile, masking what he knew. "Yep, well, outside of one final shakedown flight for some of the birds." He turned to Max. "Max, you and Miriya are heading the Proving Grounds to run the final tests on the Lightning. If things go off without a hitch, I'll be pushing the recommendation to Commodore Hayes and Admiral Gloval to bring them on-line."

Max smiled. "I'd rather they be thorough in checking things out, Tom," he stated. "Probably should bring a few others to be sure things are good."

Rick nodded in reply. "Sounds like a good idea, Max. Take Baker, Penn, Dazzler, Tintin, and Stitch with you."

"No Graham, Rick?" Wilcox asked. "She's usually part of Baker's Half Dozen." It was a semi-informal nickname given to the group of pilots in Skull that always flew together.

Ben shook his head. "She still hasn't passed the final check for the VF-4. It's been one thing or another. Even Nibs can't understand why."

"Sounds like she'd better hustle or else she can probably kiss her spot on Skull goodbye," Wilcox stated evenly. "All mine are finally checked out. Looper was the last one to get through for Rapier." He looked back at Rick. "Doesn't look good for Skull, Rick."

Rick frowned a bit. "No, it doesn't. Not one bit," he stated. _Think it may be time I have a sit-down with Mystique,_ Rick thought.

"I know Miriya, Penn, Ben, and Nibs have talked to her, Rick," Max added. "Hell, even I have. Nothing seems to get through regarding the check."

Ben shook his head. "I just don't get it. One minute, she's on par with our best. The next, she's beyond hopeless."

"I think some 'tough love' may be in order here," Rick mused. "Not a decision I relish making, but it may be the only way we get through to her. Either she passes the check or she's finding a new home."

Max and Ben both nodded. _She's a good pilot, there's no doubting that,_ Max thought. _But Miriya is uneasy around her. Then again, I'm never too comfortable around her either. It's almost as if...no, it couldn't be that._

Ben was about to give some further thoughts to Rick's idea of a little talk with Graham when the assembled pilots heard a buzzing coming from Rick's desk.

Looking down, Rick saw that the intercom had been activated and the orderly outside his office was alerting him. Clicking the button, he shrugged to the others as he spoke out. "Yes?"

"Captain Hunter? I have Commodore Hayes here wondering if you're available," the tinny voice on the other end responded. _Normally she'd call or text before swinging by,_ he thought. The voice on the other end continued on. "Sounds like it's pretty urgent. Should I send her in?"

 _Definitely not a social call,_ Rick thought. "Send her in. And let her know Commander Wilcox, Commander Stirling, and Lieutenant Commander Dixon are here with me. Have a feeling something came up."

A few seconds later the door unlatched and swung open as Commodore Lisa Hayes walked in to the office. The others stood up and saluted as Macross Command's second in command entered.

"I'm guessing you're not here just to say hi?" Rick asked with a smirk.

Lisa nodded. "You may want to turn on the TV, Rick. I think we're about to have a mess of trouble on our hands."

Rick sighed as he stabbed at the red button on the remote sitting on the desk. The TV on the wall came to life on MBSNews24/7. The scene that was presented left the four pilots stunned. It was a shot of the Government District in Buenos Aires in a state of total devastation. What appeared to be a large building had been reduced to a smoking crater. Rescue personnel and RDF ground forces were swarming over the wreckage in a desperate attempt to find survivors. A graphic near the bottom of the screen summed up the situation. It read, "EXPLOSION IN BUENOS AIRES DESTROYS GOVERNMENT CENTER." For a minute or two, they all took in the footage and were assessing what was being presented.

The first to speak was Wilcox. "I think I'm taking a lucky guess and gonna say that wasn't caused by a gas leak, Commodore."

Lisa nodded. "My first thought when I saw this was that it was a bomb of some sort."

Ben whistled at the footage. "Man, whoever that was, they sure weren't messing around. That was like New Boise."

Max watched what was unfolding intently. "Yeah, no kidding Ben," he added. It was then that Max remembered something from earlier. _Thought that Buenos Aires was just in the news this morning._ The harsh realization hit him quickly. "Rick, Lisa. I think I have a reason as to why that building got reduced into a pile of rubble. Wasn't there some sort of conference of the Governors for the Southern and Central American Quadrants going on there this week?"

Another nod from Lisa came. "Yes it was," she stated while glancing at her watch. _Seeing when this happened and keeping the time difference in mind..OH MY GOD!_ Lisa had a look of pure horror come across her face as her hand shot up and covered her mouth.

Rick caught this out of the corner of his eye and felt his stomach tumble downwards in dread. _Forgot that was going on. That would also mean...Oh damn, that is **really** not good._ He took a deep breath and exhaled. "That may also mean that our old friend Colonel Leonard may have been there too."

Ben nodded. "Not a huge fan of the Meatgrinder, but yeah, if he got iced in this, that's not good for us at all."

Wilcox looked at Rick and Lisa. "Should I get my sunscreen packed and brush up on my Spanish now or later?"

"Not yet," Rick stated. "We kind of need to get a better idea of what's going on. He then turned to Lisa. "I guess Admiral Gloval's already holed up in the Sit Room and you were sent to get us?"

Lisa nodded. "You've caught on pretty quick, Rick. He's expecting us shortly."

Rick took a deep sigh. _And I was hoping it'd stay quiet for a while,_ he thought. _Definitely have a bad feeling about what's going on down there. Something just tells me this is going to be just the start._

Keeping his dark thoughts about the current events to himself, Rick turned to the other pilots in the room. "For now, it's business as usual. Tom, gonna need ya to tag along with us to see the Admiral. However, send your guys over to the pods for a quick refresher. I'll be sending Skull over too. Might as well keep everyone sharp as we may be back in action a lot sooner rather than later." Wilcox nodded in acknowledgement, then moved towards a corner and pulled out his phone, going ahead with a quick conversation with his XO.

Rick then looked over at Ben. "Ben, may wanna head on back to the pods and get everyone going. Like I told Wilcox, gonna want to keep everyone sharp right now. Load up some of the standard Valkyrie programs. Might be better to run those than the ones for the Lightning."

"Gotcha, Boss," Ben said quickly. "I'll let Nibs know as well." A quick nod and a salute saw Ben make his way out the door with a bit more haste than usual.

He then looked at Max. "Might wanna get Miriya as well, Max, seeing we could use her insights. Your trip to the Proving Grounds is getting pushed back a bit."

Max snapped a quick salute. "Kinda had that feeling, Rick. I'll see you guys shortly." With that, he made his way out the door, pulling out his phone as he exited.

Rick then turned to Lisa, saluted and smiled. "Lead the way, Commodore."

* * *

Located a short distance away from Rick's office, the Situation Room at Macross Command was, for the most part, pretty standard by RDF base construction guidelines. Inside the building, however, it was a totally different story. The room, once slated as a giant conference room, became the hub of the day-to-day operations of the base with the destruction of the SDF-2 and the deactivation of the SDF-1 nearly a year prior.

Banks of monitors lined the walls of the main room, streaming in information from all sources available. Currently, most of the monitors had the live coverage of the events in Buenos Aires from varied perspectives. Front and center was the MBS News24/7 feed, showing the latest footage from what was being described as one of the worst attacks since Dolza's Rain.

In front of these monitors, members of the Signals and Scanning Services monitored chatter from all over. Normally, the focus was on the area closer to New Macross and Macross Command. However, on this day, the attention was a bit more south. Constant relays came in from bases near the area of attack, all in an attempt to give the RDF a bit of a better feel as to what the situation entailed and what would be their next steps going forward.

Sitting towards the back of the room, Admiral Henry Gloval took in the images of the aftermath of the attack on Buenos Aires and sighed. _It had been too quiet lately,_ he thought. _Just when Anatole reported that things were looking to be in good shape, this happens._ Gloval ruefully thought back to one of the most recent reports from Colonel Leonard that had just been sent in not even 48 hours prior. _"So far, the Zentraedi elements in a great majority of the South American quadrants seem to have quieted down since the new measures were put in place a little over six months ago,"_ Gloval recited to himself silently. _Somehow, Anatole, I do not think they are very silent right now. I warned you about being heavy handed down there. They're not that much different from us. You push them enough, they will strike back._ Looking at one of the monitors, Gloval saw some of the recovery work being done on the now destroyed main building of the Government Center and sighed again.

 _It seems the cycle never ends,_ he thought to himself as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his pipe. He lit the bowl of the pipe and took a long puff, expelling the smoke with a sigh. _Will this world ever know a moment of peace? It seemed before we were good at killing each other, then the Zentraedi showed up and put us to shame. Now, just as it seemed we turned a corner, we're about to stumble backwards towards darkness again._

It was then that Lisa, Rick, and Wilcox entered the room and made their way over towards the Admiral's location. A quick salute came up from the officers entering and was matched by one from the imposing figure in front of them.

"I'm sure Commodore Hayes filled you in about this little situation we have in the Argentine Quadrant?" Gloval stated evenly, with a hint of sarcasm when describing the issue at hand.

"She did, Admiral," Rick responded. "Right now, I gather we know as much as MBS News does currently?"

Both Lisa and the Admiral nodded. "That would be about right," Gloval surmised. "We still have yet to hear from Colonel Leonard at this point. If he was lost in this madness, then the situation is that much more grave."

"Admiral, from what the news reports are stating, the situation is still pretty fluid right now," Lisa added quickly. "It appears that the attack took place less than thirty minutes ago. The main government building in the city center was completely destroyed. Right now, it appears we're looking at heavy casualties, both civilian and military. I have Signals trying to pin down anyone on Leonard's staff. Colonel Emerson is also trying to reach out on his end as well. So far, not a word from anyone with any sort of official title."

Lisa continued on. "Also, we've yet to confirm it fully, but there was a meeting of the quadrant governors for South and Central America going on at the Government House at the time the explosion took place. Nobody's sure if they were there or not, but if they were..." Her voice trailed off as she was comprehending the full nature of what had happened. She took a deep breath before continuing on. "Admiral, we may have to deal with the possibility that every quadrant from Mexico south is now effectively leaderless."

"Thundering asteroids! This situation is beginning to get worse and worse by the minute," Gloval raged. Turning towards one of the ensigns on the Signals team, he gave a sharp look. "Still nothing from their command down there? I don't care if it's some poor _ublyudok_ corporal in charge of holding Leonard's _khuy_ while he takes a piss! Keep trying until we get anyone on his staff. Understood?"

The ensign saluted quickly and ran back to his post even faster. Gloval sat back in his chair, massaging his temples with his hands.

Rick looked back over at Lisa with a look of concern before he raised his next question. _Well, might as well see if a trip down south is on the horizon,_ he thought. _This is something that I don't see ending well, no matter how we go about things. And I'm exactly relishing any time away from you, Lisa._ Lisa took note of Rick's look of concern and found herself matching it in turn. _I don't like having to possibly send you down there either, Rick,_ she thought. _I can tell you're worried about this as much as I am. Too much can go sideways on this kind of situation._

Rick took a deep breath and went ahead with the big question. "Admiral, what sort of stance should we take here? And, are we going to need to send some of ours down there to help out?"

The Admiral looked over at his CAG and XO, also taking note of their concerned looks. _I can see you both have some hesitations about how these events can go. I share them as well._ "For now, Captain, our forces will remain here until we get a better feel for what the situation is and how Colonel Leonard's forces are positioned. As for around Macross, we go to a heightened alert status for the time being. I want us ready to act if needed, but not to the point that The Frag is alarmed needlessly."

"Guess that means Rapier's back in action as of right now, Rick?" Wilcox deadpanned.

"Yeah, you guys are off standby and on regular patrols for the time being," Rick stated quickly. Turning towards Lisa and Gloval, he continued. "Skull is bumped up to standby. If anything or anyone wants to get frisky because of events, I want us to have enough around here to remind them that it would be a really bad idea to go ahead." Without any hesitation, Wilcox shot a quick salute to Rick and the others, and departed towards the hangar area.

Both Lisa and Gloval nodded in approval as the commander of Rapier Squadron left. Lisa spoke up next. "I'll be sure to bring that up to Colonel Emerson when he gets over here. Right now, we have a few platoons of Destroids on patrol around the perimeter of the base. We may want to extend outwards a little more in light of current events."

"Agreed, Lisa," Gloval remarked. "We may also want to get in touch with Macross Metro and make them aware of the situation too. However, none of our forces are to go into The Frag unless asked by the city. You may want to emphasize that with Emerson as well. We do not need for him to potentially repeat the mistakes of his benefactor."

Lisa nodded in agreement. It was just then that both Max and Miriya Sterling came into the Sit Room and joined the others by the Admiral's position. The two newcomers took a look at the scenes unfolding on the monitors and could only shake their heads. Miriya was the first to speak after a few moments. "It seems the Malcontents in that quadrant decided on using an old tactic. To cripple one's enemy, cut off the head."

"That is if it was them," Max stated. Rick was about to argue the point before Lisa cut him off.

"True, Max," she responded. "Right now, all signs point to it, but we don't have any concrete proof as of yet. For all we know, it could have been remnants of the Anti Unification League as much as Malcontents."

Rick nodded. "But the AUL's been really quiet for years now." _Dolza's Rain may have had a lot to do with that,_ he thought darkly. _Seeing most of the Anti-Unification strongholds were among the first to get hit. Hard to really cause a problem when you're dead._

"There's a bit of sentiment towards their beliefs in that part of South America," Lisa responded. "They feel as if they're the forgotten ones since everything that's happened. Plus, seeing Khyron's ship that he used for the Last Ride was in their neighborhood, they also feel like they're getting blamed unfairly for overlooking that." Lisa remembered one conversation with Colonel Goncalves in the immediate aftermath. _How did he put it? 'You damned Gringos always like to blame us for everything that goes wrong.'_ Shaking her head at this thought, she continued. "It's something we may have to potentially consider as well, Rick."

Miriya kept an eye on the video stream. "Yes, it is something to think about, Commodore. However, from my experience and knowing some of the craft that ended up in that area, I would tend to think the Malcontents may be our prime suspects. A good number of Khyron's and Azonia's ships ended up there. And it was pretty well recorded what they thought of the Micronians."

It was at this point that one of the techs from the Signals post came over to the group around the Admiral.

"What is it, Ensign?" Gloval stated evenly.

"Sir, I have Colonel Emerson on the line. He reports he has some insights as to what's going on in Buenos Aires."

"Patch him through."

The ensign nodded, saluted, and ran back to his post. A few seconds later, the main screen shifted from the live feed from MBS to another communications room on the base. Taking up the majority of the screen was an image of Colonel Rolf Emerson, who had become the head of the RDF Ground Forces contingent at Macross Command a few months prior. Some had thought he had gotten this job due to being one of Leonard's closest advisors, but in his short time in charge at Macross, he had proven himself to be capable and not a puppet as some had thought. He smiled briefly and snapped off a quick salute to the Admiral and the others assembled.

"Colonel," Gloval stated. "I'm going to, how you say, cut to the chase here. What's the current situation in Buenos Aires and have you heard from Anatole yet?"

"Right now, the local authorities have the city on lockdown as they have their police forces fanned out towards the _barrios_ the Zentraedi call home there. They've effectively sealed them off pending further orders. It's quiet for the most part as the civilians are sheltering in place. As for our response, we don't really have one as of yet as we're waiting to hear from Anatole. I did pin down one of the guys on his staff, a Major Luis Alejandro Giminez. He did say that Leonard was not there when the bomb went off."

A wave of slight relief went through the group assembled at the Admiral's location.

"Where exactly is he?" Lisa asked.

"Commodore, the Major reported that Colonel Leonard was at a high level meeting at Fort Centenario in the Uruguayan Quadrant. That's a good 300 kilometers from Buenos Aires. From what the Major told me, he's well aware of the situation and was meeting with some of the key military leaders there to get a plan in place going forward."

"The first bit of good news today," Gloval sighed.

Rick nodded in agreement before broaching another critical question. "Any timeframe on when we'll here from the Colonel?"

"None yet, Captain. I figure he wants to have his guys all set first before reaching out to us. I'd expect him to be asking for some help when the time comes."

Rick nodded again at that bit of information. _I'm not going to be very shocked if he does, Rolf. Guess maybe Wilcox was right. It may time to brush up on my Spanish and get some sunscreen._

Gloval got the conversation back on track quickly. "On to the next topic. What are we looking at? Malcontent strike or something else?"

"Still not totally sure, Admiral. The boots on the ground are still trying to confirm what happened. Also, our main Intel liaison, Lieutenant Ortega, is missing and presumed KIA in that mess. It's pretty bad though, no matter who did this."

Lisa stepped forward with the next, and more difficult question. "We heard rumors that there was a governor's conference going on at the time of the explosion. Do we have any confirmation that this was the case?"

Emerson nodded sadly. "Yes, Giminez was able to verify that it was the case. At last check before the blast, they were in the main conference room. Nobody saw any of them among the survivors. He also related that the medical staff there made a call up here to get the DNA samples and dental records for the governors believed to be in attendance. That tells you what kind of carnage we're looking at."

The Admiral spoke again. " _Slava Bogu!_ To say this is a disaster is an understatement, Colonel. We may be facing a situation bordering on total anarchy if we're not careful."

"It appears that way, Admiral," Emerson added sadly.

* * *

Almost a world away, the unfolding chaos in Buenos Aires was being acutely felt just 300 miles away at Fort Centenario in the Uruguayan Quadrant. Significantly smaller than Macross Command or even Fort Maracana in the Brazilian Quadrant, this complex served as the nerve center for the RDF in the southern part of South America.

Inside of the base, a conference was going on in one of the main buildings. Much like the earlier conference that was suddenly and swiftly interrupted, the room had twelve of the highest ranking RDF officers at a large table facing a view screen. On the screen was the visage of one Colonel Anatole Leonard.

"Gentlemen," Leonard spoke evenly. "No doubt you've heard the reports of what happened over in Buenos Aires. The preliminary report is that the __La Casa del Sol Naciente__ is for all intents and purposes gone. Also, I can confirm that the governors were in there when the blast went off. From what one of my aides that's observing things tells me, out of about fifteen hundred people in there at the time of the blast, only about two hundred got out, if that. And none of them were any of the governors either."

A wave of gasps came over the assembled officers.

One, wearing a uniform similar to that of Leonard, stood up.

"So, where do we go from here? Without the governors..."

A smile came over Leonard's face. "Simple solution, Enrique. We step into the void for the time being."

Another shook his head. "Anatole, what you propose is outright madness and is patently illegal. The UEG Constitution clearly states that there is a clear separation of powers between the civilian government and the military."

"In times of major crisis and emergency, the rules can be slightly bent, Carlos," Leonard explained. "Yes, I'm aware of that separation of powers. However, it doesn't take into account if there is a potential insurrection at hand."

Carlos had a quizzical look. "You mean...?"

Leonard scowled as he held up a piece of paper. "I have in my hands solid intel from Lieutenant Ortega, my resident RDF Intelligence Service agent here. In this brief, he detailed a plot by the Zentraedi in Buenos Aires to 'send a message' to the residents of the city and the planet in general. Unfortunately, the Lieutenant paid the ultimate price for getting me this information as he was the target of said message. There is a copy of this in front of you for review."

Looks of consternation came over the faces of the men as the read over the information supplied to them.

Carlos stood up with a dire look. " _¡Madre a Dios!_ You're saying the Em Zees directly targeted us? And **_you_** knew about it and didn't say a word?"

"We couldn't let the Xeroxes know we were on to them," Leonard shot back. "If we tipped our hand..."

"This is beyond madness, Colonel," Enrique added. "This is going down the road of outright treason! I cannot be a party to this!"

"I agree with my esteemed colleague, _Coronel._ I'm not, how you say, wet behind the ears. I know a coup when I smell one." Carlos stated with an edge to his tone. "I will not betray the oath I took when I joined the UEG's military."

Leonard glared back before softening his tone. "Well, gentlemen. If you feel this way, I completely understand. However, if you cannot agree to what I have proposed, I will have to ask you to leave as the rest of this meeting will cover some more sensitive materiel." He glanced at his watch. "How about we adjourn for about a half hour and then continue. I will make arrangements to have a shuttle ready to get you back to your posts."

The two opposing officers nodded and joined in saluting the viewscreen as it went to black.

As the screen went to black, Colonel Leonard fished out another cigarette and lit it up, glaring back at the now dark screen. " _Stupide nemernici,_ " he muttered to himself as he glanced at another screen and punched a button on his console. A familiar vision arose.

"I guess by that look they didn't buy into our plan, Colonel?" Raven remarked with a hint of mirth.

"Most of them did, Raven. The brief did the trick. However, we have two that sadly have a case of severe myopia," Leonard responded. "We need to make arrangements for Colonels Enrique Garcia and Carlos Avaratello. They will be leaving via shuttle shortly from Fort Centenario."

Raven nodded as he caught on to what was being insinuated by the officer on the other side of the viewscreen. "Totally understood. Should it be accidental or otherwise?"

"The time for subtlety has passed. A stronger and more direct example must be made. And it will also erase the doubts from the others. My father always said fear is a great motivational tool."

A dark smile came over Raven's face. "I think we can arrange something **_suitable_** , Anatole."

Leonard responded in kind with an evil smile. "I knew I could count on you. Go ahead and do what you need to do."

Raven smiled and nodded as the screen went black.

Sitting back in his chair, Leonard took another drag and blew the smoke upwards towards the ceiling. _The last little parts are coming together. It will not be long before I can show what I'm really capable of. I fear greatly for those that doubt or oppose me, for I shall not have any mercy upon them._

* * *

Just as the half hour break was to come to an end, Colonels Garcia and Avaratello made their way across the tarmac towards a waiting shuttle. A sense of purpose radiated from the two as they prepared to make their full break.

"Have you been able to reach Monument yet?" Carlos asked as they walked briskly towards the aircraft.

Enrique shook his head. "No. Not yet. Something tells me if I tried to do so here, it would not be beneficial to our safety."

"So we wait?"

"For now, yes. Once we're safely back at Fort Orinoco, we should be in better position to get the word out." Enrique sighed. "It should have never come to this, _hermano_."

"On that, I agree, Enrique," Carlos added. "Leonard's making like an old school _junta_ leader. Guess someone had some affection for the group of Colonels that ran things across the river about 40 years ago."

"You do not have to remind me of that," Enrique said sharply. "I can remember those _hijos de puta_ sending me and my friends down to the Malvinas for no good reason other to freeze and have the Brits shoot our collected _culos_ off."

"We may want to let Macross know as well," Carlos pondered. "I've worked with Gloval before and he may be able to reign Leonard in a bit."

"Agreed, but first, let us get as far away from this place as possible."

As the two officers boarded the shuttle, they failed to notice a few of the security detail talking among themselves and observing what was going on.

One of the detail nodded to the others.

"Our quarry is arriving. Remember, both the Colonel and the Boss don't want either of them among the living for much longer."

One of the others smiled. "They won't have to worry. This is rather foolproof. We initiate everything once I give the signal."

The member of the security detail nodded and smiled. As the shuttle taxied down the runway, he made a slight adjustment on his watch and then tapped at his ear again.

"The clay pigeons are just leaving now. Everything is set."

"Good. I'll alert our contacts. This will definitely be...illuminating."

" _Cu onoare, fratele meu._ "

" _D_ _a, întotdeauna cu onoare!_ "

With that the communication went dead. The security detail watched as the shuttle rose into the mid-afternoon sky and peeled off towards the north.

* * *

As the other officers came back in after the impromptu break, they were greeted by two rather unfamiliar fellow officers and a smiling, more relaxed Colonel Leonard on the viewscreen.

"Gentlemen," he intoned. "As you know, Colonels Garcia and Avaratello decided against embarking with us on this little adventure. I have invited two of my more trusted Lieutenants, Lieutenant Ramirez and Lieutenant Uglivade to take their places on our council." The two stood up and saluted the screen and their fellow officers. Among the others that had just returned, looks of concern and confusion took hold.

It was just then that Colonel Leonard caught sight of another monitor coming to life. As he took a drag off of his cigarette, he smiled again. On the monitor in question was a drone flight capturing the flight of a shuttle over the dense rain forests north of their location. _Shouldn't be too much longer now_ , he thought to himself. _Really should have played ball, guys. Oh well, nothing like an object lesson to get one's point across._ The Colonel tapped a button on the console in front of him.

In the conference room, the screen shifted from that of Colonel Leonard to that of the shuttle. However, the Colonel's voice came in over the speakers.

"Gentlemen, I wish to show you how traitors to the cause will be treated."

A split second later, a smaller object streaked up from the jungle below and towards the shuttle at rapid speed. Within seconds, the object made contact with the shuttle, blasting it apart in a spectacular explosion. Fragments from the shattered shuttle began to rain down on the dense vegetation.

Inside of the conference room, all were quiet, with the exception of the two newcomers, who had dark smiles on their faces.

"So," Leonard intoned with a bit more malice, "Does anyone _**else**_ want to leave?"

To a man, all were silent.

Leonard's visage came back on the screen. "Good. Orders are as follows. Go back to your quadrants and declare martial law. You are the authority now. Once everything is all set, we initiate the first part of Operation Southern Cross."

One of the officers stood up meekly. "Sir, I fully wish to be of service on this, but what about Monument? I doubt.."

Leonard cut off the man quickly. "Can your doubts, coward! I already have assurances from my friends at Monument that this will not be a problem. There are more than enough on the Council that agree with the course of action we are to take! So, do not worry yourself with such trifling details." A wicked smile came across Leonard's face as he continued. "Unless you want to end up like the late Colonel Garcia and Colonel Avaratello."

The officer slid back into his seat.

"Do I make myself clear?" Leonard added.

Silence filled the room.

"With that, we are adjourned for the time being. Do not act until shortly before I go ahead and address the quadrants. Once we are in place, act swiftly and act ruthlessly. The Zents need to be put down and this is the start. They started this war, and in the name of God, we shall finish this."

Leonard cracked a smile as he continued on. "Also, as a bit of insurance, I will be having some of my personal security detachment accompany you all back to your quadrants. They're quite good at their job and will keep you safe." _They're also my eyes and ears as well. They'll be more than happy to kill any of you if I so much as order it. Call it my insurance policy_ _,_ he added silently.

With that, the screen went to black. Inside of the room, a detachment of men in black uniforms walked in. The man at the head smiled as he motioned towards the now cowed officers towards the doors. " _S_ _eñores_ ," the man intoned with a wry grin. "Follow us please."

As the assembled officers left, the man that had led the detachment in hung back in the room. Seeing that the coast was clear, he pulled out a cell phone and tapped on the screen.

"Colonel, I think our demonstration worked," the man said with an evil grin.

"Yes, Raven. That it did. The others won't as much raise a fuss now after that," Leonard added. "However, that one spineless coward did raise a good point. There will be some up North that will not be happy once this news breaks."

Raven nodded. "We may have to go ahead with that earlier idea I presented a few weeks ago."

"Yes, we may have to. However, the way have to go about this. It's rather distasteful."

"But, if it works," Raven said with a smile, "It will keep prying eyes away from here for quite a while. And who knows? If enough success comes through, you may get a call home, if you catch my drift."

"Indeed, Raven, indeed," Leonard responded. "Go ahead with your plan."

"Yes, sir. I'll contact my resources." With that, the call went dead.

 _Well, Henry, events may be about to pass you by,_ Leonard thought as he took a final drag off of the cigarette. _And the best part about it is, neither you or any of those snot-nosed kids you call your Executive Officers will see it coming until it's far too late._

* * *

 ** _A/N_** _\- So, we're back in the saddle after a longer than expected layoff. Some juicy advancement of the story here, but there's more to come. Leonard has a bit of a speech to make and there will be reaction from a great many parties._

 _Reviews please! Would like to hear how I'm doing on this one._


	7. Ch 7 - Reactions

**Chapter Seven – Reactions**

Along one of the _autostradas_ that connected the Argentine Quadrant to the surrounding quadrants of South America, a relatively unremarkable sedan made its way along the highway that was marked as the A-12. This road connected Buenos Aires with the Paraguayan Quadrant capital of Ascuncion, which was the direction the sedan was headed.

Inside of the sedan, Lieutenant Gabriel Ortega kept tabs on the progress of his journey. _Only about another forty kilometers until we hit the quadrant boundaries,_ he thought. Taking a quick glance at the rear view mirror, he noticed that his less than willing passenger, the micronized Zentraedi named Cryndor, was asleep in the back. _At least you have that luxury right now, amigo,_ Ortega mused. _Probably going to be the last bit of a chance of a rest you're going to have for a while._ The radio that was on in the car was detailing all the latest information of the events that had occurred in Buenos Aires earlier that day. _Still no word from Leonard yet,_ Ortega thought. _He's either making sure he has everything in order or some other lunacy has occurred that hasn't been reported as of yet. And knowing the Colonel, I'm betting on the first rather than the second._

It was then that Ortega noticed his phone was vibrating. In glancing over, he saw there were two text messages that had come in. _Probably should check that,_ he thought as he checked the GPS. _Rest stop is just two klicks down the road. Perfect._ Looking to the back seat, Ortega sighed. _Gonna have to wake him up. He'll be pissed, but oh well. Gonna need him to be alert when we hit the border._

The car pulled into the rest area. In of itself, it was nothing more than a scenic overlook, giving travelers a chance to stretch and take some pictures of the vibrant jungle that surrounded the highway. As the car stopped in one of the parking spaces, Ortega stopped the car and grabbed his phone. Clicking on the messages, the look on his face turned grave. _So, he's actually going ahead with it,_ he thought as he read on. As he got to the second message, the color began to drain out of his face as he registered what was being reported. _Damn,_ he added silently. _The situation is a lot worse than I thought. Probably going to need to get things sped up even more now in light of this tidbit of information._ Exiting the messages, he punched in a number he knew by heart and waited.

" _Hola, hermano_. Yes, I'm aware of what's going on. All I can say is, the situation is changing by the second. We should be there in a few hours, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Yes, I have him with me. Everything is arranged? Perfect. Send my regards to Rosa. _Adios._ "

Ortega closed the phone and then turned towards the back. Deciding that nap time was now over, he gave his sleeping passenger a quick shake.

"Hey! Need ya awake here, pal."

A groggy Cryndor glared back at his traveling companion. "I'm not, how you say, your pal, Lieutenant," he shot back. "Where the blazes are we anyways?"

"About thirty five klicks from the Paraguayan border. Things are still changing by the second. Just got some information that is, shall we say, not very encouraging at the moment. We're going to need to step on it."

"So, if we're in a hurry, why did we stop?"

"Didn't want to draw any attention to us," Ortega responded. "The _policia_ are already a bit jumpy as it is, so staying under the radar is best."

Cryndor was about to respond when something on the radio got his attention.

 _"Citizens of the Argentine Quadrant! There will be a special address by Colonel Anatole Leonard regarding today's terrorist attack on the Casa del Sol Nasciente and the ongoing efforts of our brave forces to find those responsible. This address is to start in about five minutes."_

"Guessing we will be staying put while the Colonel spreads more lies?" Cryndor said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Ortega nodded. "You could say that."

* * *

At Macross Command, the same announcement came over through the MBS coverage that dominated the main viewscreen of the Situation Room. On another viewscreen, the head of the ground forces at the base, Colonel Rolf Emerson, had a sour look on his face. The look was more than matched by the assembled officers by Admiral Gloval at the head of the room.

Breaking the slience, Captain Rick Hunter was the first of the assembled to speak. "Well, guess Anatole's not going to give us a sneak preview of what he's going to say."

Standing next to Hunter, Commodore Lisa Hayes shook her head at this latest bit of information. "This makes no sense. None at all," she stated softly.

"Something about this just doesn't add up at all, Rick," Commander Max Sterling stated towards Rick.

"Preaching to the choir, Max," Rick deadpanned.

Lieutenant Commander Miriya Sterling, who was standing next to her husband, chimed in next. "Captain, it seems the Colonel has, how you say, something to hide here. As Maximillian said, none of this is standard protocol at all. The last time I can remember dealing with someone that was, as you would say, 'shady', it was Khyron himself."

"I have no idea what's gotten into him since he went down there," an exasperated Colonel Emerson stated with disgust. "I hope to hell he knows what he's doing."

"Guess we're gonna have to wait and find out," Rick stated as he looked back at the main viewscreen.

The Admiral could only nod in agreement with the statements. _Another unwelcome development,_ he thought to himself. _In a day that has been full of them so far, I can only imagine what lunacy is to come next from Anatole._

* * *

On the other side of New Macross, over in The Frag, the events unfolding on MBS were also being watched intently by three relative newcomers to the neighborhood. As they took in the sights of the attack and processed the incoming information, a shared sense of foreboding crossed the minds of the three beings watching the TV in front of them.

After a few moments of silence, one decided to speak up.

"What sort of insanity has Nadtal caused down there?" Xamdar stated with a definite edge to his tone. "From what that fool told us, it was only a minor operation. If this is his idea of a 'minor' operation, I'd be loathe to see what a major one would look like."

Pyoto looked back over at his colleague with a strained look. "I already checked with Izadu down in Buenos Aires. He managed to make contact with both Nadtal and Alondo. It appears that neither of those fools down there had any idea that the 'message' was going to be this large. Also, no one has seen or heard from Cryndor since those two made contact with him shortly before the explosion."

"They probably modified the plan and didn't say a word so Izadu wouldn't terminate them," Xamdar said with a sniff. "The Micronians are bound to overreact about this." A dark smile crossed Xamdar's face as he processed what he had just stated. "It would mean we can resume operations here finally."

"Enough of that, Xamdar" Pyoto said crossly. "We're not doing a thing yet. Not until we get the go ahead from either Azonia or Grel. Orders are orders, and our orders are to stay under the scopes of the Micronians. And unlike some," making a slight nodding gesture towards the ongoing chaos on the TV screen. "We actually follow them. Are we clear on that?"

"Crystal," Xamdar said with a hint of menace.

Turning towards the third member of the group, Pyoto continued. "Your thoughts on what we should do next?"

Quazmin shared the same look as the other two Zentraedi sitting in the room. "Right now, I'd advise we listen to what this Colonel Leonard has to say in the coming moments. If your intel on him is correct, he may tip his hand greatly and reveal what he has in store. If he reacts as you say he will, we may have to move faster back here to preserve our kind down there."

"You mean..." Pyoto responded with a bit of disbelief. _The Micronians wouldn't dare go that route? Would they?_

"We may well have to consider that, Pyoto," Quazmin said evenly. "I would advise we definitely make contact with our friends at the asteroid afterwords. I doubt they know what is going on here as of yet. See what they advise and then we move." Turning towards Pyoto, he smiled. "I would suggest making sure the long range transmitter is ready to go. I have a feeling we will be having a frank discussion with our friends soon enough."

Pyoto nodded and made his way out of the room, leaving Quazmin and Xamdar alone.

"Khyron wouldn't even hesitate making an example of these Micronians," Xamdar sneered.

"You're right. He wouldn't," Quazmin stated. A dark look came over his face as he continued. "However, I am **not** him. He was always too quick to jump into things from what I saw in the archives. And when he did that, things went against us badly. However, in the last few gambits he ran here last year, it nearly worked to perfection as he was more patient. Something you were not, if the archives were correct," he added with a dark smile. _Cross me, and you'll be right back in the tubes,_ he thought. _That is, if Khyron even allows it. Copies have a nasty habit of getting lost in transmission._

Xamdar bristled at the reminder of his failure. _I do not care whose genetic material you were spawned from,_ he thought darkly as he looked over at Quazmin. _I will burn you from the skies if you get in my way._

Before he could make a rather nasty comment towards his colleague, something caught Xamdar's attention on the TV. "It appears we will get our answer soon. This Leonard fool is about to speak shortly."

Quazmin nodded. _If what the archives say of you is true, Colonel, then this will be a fight to the death. One we don't intend on losing._

* * *

As the clock advanced to the top of the hour, Colonel Anatole Leonard stood off to the side of a hastily constructed studio collecting his thoughts before what was to be a momentous occasion. _The Xeroxes have given me a golden opportunity to proceed with Southern Cross,_ he thought to himself as he lit up a cigarette. _It wasn't hard to get the information about the potential hit on Ortega. That one Xerox gave up the information rather easily, even before Raven's enhanced persuasion techniques were used._ A cruel smile came across his face as he took a drag and expelled the smoke upwards. _Too bad about Ortega in all of this. Good man, but just a means to an end. Sadly, some good men have to make that sacrifice for the greater good. I'll be sure his family will get a nice stipend for his gracious service to the cause._ Looking over his notes, he nodded to himself. _Russo made sure things are good on the Monument side, from what he told me two nights ago. Didn't think the Council would have given the OK for my idea, but nothing a little persuasion and monetary expense couldn't handle. However, Macross will be a problem once they catch wind of what I have in store._

The smile faded to a dark frown.

 _Henry, you should have played ball on this one,_ he thought. _I gave you every chance in the world to be a part of this. T_ _oo bad those two over-idealistic children have your ear and you refuse to listen to reason. You all will be swept aside and consigned to the dustbin of history if this goes through._ _Sorry, old friend, but if you're not with me, you're against me. And if you're against me, you're an obstacle that will be run over._ Taking another drag off of the cigarette, the frown began to lessen and turn into a sneer. _Oh, knocking Hunter and Hayes down a few pegs is an added bonus. I doubt the Captain and Commodore are going to go along with this. However, I have ideas on how to remove both of them from the picture fully._

An aide came over to the Colonel and saluted. "Sir, we go live in sixty seconds."

Taking one last drag off the cigarette, Leonard smiled. "Thank you, Corporal. That will be all."

"Good luck, sir," the corporal stated as he walked back.

Leonard saluted and nodded. _In this business,_ _kid,_ he thought. _We make our own luck._

* * *

The viewscreens in the Situation Room at Macross Command flashed over from various reports to the sight of a sole podium with a nest of microphones attached. Towards the podium came a larger man in a military uniform sporting a very short haircut. Turning towards the camera, the man had a look of seriousness about him.

Rick Hunter noted this and looked towards his friends at their position in the room. _Guess it's showtime,_ he thought darkly as he prepared to take in the speech.

* * *

Leonard assumed his position behind the podium and cleared his throat before starting.

"Good evening. Normally, a speech in this quadrant would be in either Spanish or Portuguese, but for the sake of brevity and clarity, this will be in English tonight. I have made arrangements to have the speech simulcast in these languages as I speak to the proper outlets."

He took a sip of water before continuing.

"Today, we have seen what is by far one of the worst acts of terrorism since the attempted attack on New Macross less than a year ago. It was a throwback to the days of the Anti Unification League's desperate attempts to keep the United Earth Government from forming. It was a time where we saw regular occurrences of bombings and killing of government officials because of a general disagreement over how the people wished to be governed. We all had thought those dark days had passed us by."

* * *

Back in Macross, Admiral Gloval shook his head at the statement. _Ironic you bring up the AUL, Anatole. You were part of that rabble for quite some time._

Rick, Lisa, Max, and Miriya all caught this gesture by the Admiral and all felt a sense of foreboding at the other aspects of the speech.

* * *

"Sadly," Colonel Leonard continued. "It appears they have come back with a vengeance. However, the threat is not from a misguided group, but instead by something much more sinister. No, the threat is among our newest neighbors. Some may have assimilated, but it appears most are wanting to continue on with the senseless war that they started years ago."

* * *

In The Frag, Xamdar, Pyoto, and Quazmin all looked at each other in shock.

"Did he just blame us for starting this war?" Xamdar stammered.

"They shot at us **first!** " Pyoto spat out.

Quazmin did not say a word, but stared intently at the screen.

* * *

"If it is a continuation of the past war they want," Leonard stated. "Then, I am more than happy to oblige them on behalf of the UEG, RDF, and the people of the Southern Quadrants, who it is my duty to protect. Let it be known, that this act of treachery and terrorism will not be tolerated."

* * *

"Oh, this is not good," Cryndor muttered to himself while in the car.

Ortega listened intently, not commenting outwardly. _The crazy son of a bitch is about to do this,_ he thought. _No time like right now to get across,_ he thought. Without any hesitation, he restarted the car and began to pull out of the rest area. Before putting the car in drive, he turned around to his passenger.

"You're gonna want to hit the floor and put the blanket over you," Ortega stated clearly. "I doubt the _federales_ at the border patrol is going to let you cross when we get there if what I think is about to happen. Don't make a damn sound until I give you the all clear."

Without as much as a protest, Cryndor nodded and followed the instructions, wondering silently if his new companion was truly going to be the death of him.

* * *

"As is stands now, the _Casa del Sol Naciente_ is a complete loss. The death toll from this attack has yet to be fully accounted for, but I also have the sad duty to report that a good number of the governors of the Southern Quadrants were lost in this attack as they were in a meeting at the time of the blast. Right now, our early leads tell us that a group of Malcontent Zentraedi knew that this high level meeting was happening and targeted the governors. Our intelligence wing, which sadly also paid the ultimate price, was able to determine that the attack was originated by a cell in the San Rafael barrio in Buenos Aires itself."

* * *

In the San Rafael barrio, Izadu turned towards the two stunned visitors in his home with fury.

"You idiots! You have signed our death warrants! We're not even close to ready to go ahead with any major actions, and now you've called down the RDF upon our heads!"

He stood up and pulled out a pistol, pointing it at the two now terrified Zentraedi in front of him.

"I should kill both of you _dekaalchuunzinos_ for this. However, I will let the commander decide your fates." With that, he holstered the pistol and pulled out a communicator.

* * *

"In these drastic times, drastic actions need to be taken. I have, with the authority from the UEG Supreme Council, already met with my fellow counterparts among the RDF command structure in the Southern Quadrants this afternoon. In light of the current situation, it is with the council's approval that I have declared a state of siege in all the following quadrants; Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas, and Southern Panama. The RDF commanders in these quadrants will be assuming direct control of the government in this state of siege and will be fulfilling the role of Quadrant Governor on a temporary basis. Martial law will be in effect until the emergency has passed, per the Emergency Powers Act passed by the Council this morning."

Leonard took another sip of water before continuing on.

"Also, a dusk to dawn curfew will be in effect for certain areas in the major cities. The checkpoints to these areas will be more strictly enforced by RDF and the local police authorities. I have also seen to the creation of a new wing of our law enforcement with the creation of the _Brigada de Hierro_. This is a strictly volunteer organization made up of like-minded citizens of the Quadrant that wish to help in our time of need."

* * *

As the sedan approached the checkpoint at the quadrant border, Ortega turned a shade paler than before with the pronouncements coming over the car radio.

 _My God,_ he thought. _He actually is going ahead with Southern Cross. This situation is spiraling out of control here._ Looking towards the back, Ortega frowned. _Gonna definitely take some doing to get you out of here, pal._ _To say you...scratch that, both of us are wanted men is an understatement._

Looking over his papers, Ortega took a deep breath. _Hopefully these peons buy this,_ he thought as the car rolled up to the checkpoint.

A disinterested guard walked over to the window.

 _"Papeles, por favor."_

Ortega handed them over wordlessly.

"Where you headed, _amigo_?"

"Asuncion. On business."

The guard shuffled through the identification papers and smiled.

"Everything looks in order. _Bienvenido al cuadrante paraguayo, amigo!_ "

" _Gracias_."

The guard waved Ortega's car through and within seconds the sedan was across the border heading off towards the quadrant capital. As the car pulled off, the guard noticed something about the car and went into the booth. Inside was a monitor and a recording device. He spun back through and caught the license plate on the car. Cross checking it with an urgent bulletin that had been sent out earlier in the morning, he saw a match.

Not even hesitating, he picked up a phone.

"Hello, Command? Yes, the car in the notification from this morning? It just passed through the crossing to the Paraguayan Quadrant on the A-12. Heading towards Asuncion. Roger that. _Adios_."

The guard put the phone's receiver back in the receiver and continued on with his duties.

* * *

On the other side of the line, Raven smiled. _Oh, Ortega. Why didn't you stay dead like you were told? No matter, I think we can handle this one without ruffling the Colonel's feathers,_ he thought as he dialed another number. A few seconds later, the connection was made.

"Yes, they're on their way. Black sedan with Argentine Quadrant government plates. Number is Alpha-Zed-Bravo-Six-Four-Two-Eight. Just one in the car that we know of. There may be another in the car, but the informant wasn't quite sure. However, I would assume where one is, the other isn't too far behind. Both are considered to be highly dangerous. Take all measures to remove them. The Colonel wishes it to be so. Thank you."

Raven hung up the phone and waited for the report back. Meanwhile, his attention was brought back to the TV in front of him. _So, we're legal now,_ he thought. _I cannot thank you enough, Anatole._ An evil smile came over his face. _It'll be like old times._

* * *

Back in The Frag, the quiet atmosphere was broken by the buzzing of Quazmin's communicator. Cursing the timing, he glanced at who was disturbing him during this important information blast. Noticing the characters spelled out the name of his contact in the Southern Quadrants, he quickly flipped the device open and tapped a button.

"Go ahead, Izadu."

"Sir, you have heard this lunacy on the info blast?"

"Yes, I'm watching right now," Quazmin responded with a bit of an edge. "If you're bothering me during this, it had better be important."

"I have Nadtal and Alondo here right now," came the tinny response. "Do you wish for me to terminate them?"

"No," Quazmin responded. "Actually, put Nadtal on."

A brief silence came over the device followed by a quick "Sir, I can completely expl.."

"Silence, you fool," Quazmin shot back with enough ferocity to get the attention of both Pyoto and Xamdar. "Right now, your life and that of your colleague hang in the balance in what you tell me. If I don't like the answer, I'll be more than happy to order Izadu to give both of you a one way trip back to the tubes. And that is if I even allow for you to be respawned. Now. _**Talk**_!"

"Yes, we were going ahead with an operation towards an easy target of interest. Our intel assets saw that this Colonel Leonard's chief intelligence officer, a Lieutenant Ortega, was a perfect candidate for a 'message sending', as Alondo dubbed it. However, the plan was just to blow up his car while he was on his way to the command center."

"Go on," Quazmin stated with an edge.

"We had two other resources for this operation. One was Ortega's driver, a warrior by the name of Cryndor. The other was another of our collection here in Buenos Aires. A warrior by the name of Vondin. He was on the same ship as Alondo during the war and all, so he was sure he was committed to the cause. However, we have not heard from Vondin in some time. Cryndor, however, we did see and we did meet with to set everything in place. He even followed through and called us when it was set. However, he's also disappeared and I fear he made a sacrifice in this effort."

"Hold on, did you say you had an **_another_** asset in place that hasn't been heard from in some time?" Quazmin could feel his temper rising. "You _**fool**_! It would be an obvious stretch that maybe, just maybe, this Vondin was perhaps captured by the Micronians."

Izadu had grabbed back the communicator from Nadtal at this point. "Sir, this was a point of information that I was not aware of," he responded with a hint of malice. "I believe that the Micronians got to Vondin and he was persuaded to give up certain points of information."

"Can you confirm that the warrior in question was captured, Izadu?"

"Unfortunately I cannot, sir. It appears that Vondin was found dead about one standard day ago. He appeared to be roughed up a bit and was dispatched with a single blaster shot to the back of the head. If he was, the Micronians that captured him made sure he would not tell us anything."

Quazmin paused for a second. _This botched operation may lead to our doom. I will have to definitely contact the Asteroid now._ Taking a deep breath, Quazmin considered his next step.

"Izadu, prepare the warriors for an attack. I feel the Micronians are going to react strongly in the coming days."

"As you command. And, what about our two friends here?"

"Do with them as you wish."

"Understood."

With that, the conversation ended. In San Miguel, Izadu closed the communicator and turned towards his fellow Zentraedi. In a quick motion, he pulled out his pistol, pointed it at Alondo and fired. The shot caught the unfortunate warrior between the eyes. He sagged and dropped to floor like a sack of wet cement. Holstering the weapon, he looked at a now shaken Nadtal.

"That is the price of failure," Izadu stated plainly. "The next time, it will be you. Go and rally the men. I feel the Colonel is going to be paying us a visit shortly."

Nadtal nodded and made his way out of the dwelling with haste without saying as much as a word.

* * *

Back at the house in The Frag, Quazmin turned to the others.

"Pyoto, make contact with Azonia and Grel. We have a lot to discuss." Pyoto nodded and started to make his way towards another room. Turning to Xamdar, Quazmin smiled. "Well, my friend," he stated with a hint of sarcasm at the final word, "You may be about to get your wish. Get the men together. We may have some work ahead of us sooner rather than later."

Xamdar nodded and smiled. "As you command."

* * *

Leonard paused for a second, softening his look towards the camera.

"For the majority of the population of the Quadrants, there will be little to no change in your day to day activities. The only thing that may be a little different are an increase in RDF and BdH personnel being about. We are looking to your well-being and protection in these trying and dangerous times."

He then shifted gears, bringing back the hard look that he was noted for.

"As for the matter of the terrorists that caused this situation, all our forces in the Quadrants will be fully engaged to find them and any of their associates and bring them to justice. Any and all resistance to our apprehension of these scum will be met by swift, precise, and unyielding force. I would suggest to our friends that thinking I am full of bluster is not an advisable idea, as it will not end well. We will find you and we will crush you. And I do keep my promises."

He paused for a second, catching his breath.

"To the people of the affected Quadrants, I stress again that this is only a temporary measure and is not permanent. However, with the grace of God, we will get through this and strive to more peaceful days ahead. Thank you and God bless us all."

* * *

At Macross Command, a stunned silence came over the Situation Room.

Lisa was the first among the group to find their voice.

"Admiral, is this even legal?"

"Evidently, Lisa, the Council gave Anatole the impression that this is," he stated back with an undercurrent of anger. "Thundering asteroids! This act is utter madness!" The Admiral rose up from his chair and turned to an aide. "Ensign, get a connection in place to Monument in my office on the double!"

As the aide ran off towards the exit, Gloval turned to the others.

"I will be in contact with the Council to see if Anatole is telling the truth. The rest of you, get a game plan in place in case Leonard decides to ask for our assistance with his little power grab," Gloval responded with a bitter tone. "For now, we stand firm here unless Monument tells us otherwise."

With that, the Admiral left for his office as the others saluted. Once Gloval had left, Lisa turned to one of the monitors.

"Rolf, we'll be back in touch once we move to one of the conference rooms." Motioning towards the three most senior officers in the Sit Room, Lisa saluted as the Trio made their way over. Not wasting time, Lisa cut right to the chase.

"Kim," Lisa stated quickly. "Get in touch with Breetai and Exedore ASAP. I have a feeling this little speech may not have gone over too well up there. Once you have contact, patch it through immediately."

"On it, ma'am!" came the sharp response as she made her way over to the Communications array.

Turning to the second woman, Lisa kept the same tone. "Vanessa, get a few drones up above The Frag. Better we have some eyes in the sky to keep a tab on things close to home. Doubt they're happy campers at the moment and Macross Metro is gonna need all the help they can get. We get anything, let them know ASAP."

Vanessa saluted and moved quickly towards Signals to arrange getting the drones airborne. Lisa then turned towards the third member of the group.

"Sammie, you have the biggest role of all," Lisa said with a smile. "The conn is yours."

A shocked look came over her face. "Ye..ye..ye..yes, ma'am!" was the response with a shaky salute.

Lisa then turned to the other officers. "Rick, get Ben, Nibs, and Wilcox up here on the double as well. We'll need their input as to what our next steps are going to be."

Rick smiled as he had his cellphone aloft. "One step ahead, Lisa. Already got a hold of them. They're on their way over as well."

 _And that is why I love you,_ she thought as she smiled at Rick. _You were thinking the same thing I was._

With that, the group made their way out of the Situation Room towards a more private area to continue the conversations the speech had brought forth.

* * *

Along the nearly deserted highway, a single black sedan made its way through the forested areas towards the capital of the Paraguayan Quadrant. Inside of the sedan, Lieutenant Ortega noticed they were passing a distance marker that noted it was only another two hundred kilometers to their destination. Looking into the rear-view mirror, he remembered he had not said anything to his still hiding passenger. _For all I know, he went back to sleep,_ he thought. _Wish I had that luxury. However, having him drive right now would be a grave mistake in this situation. Probably should let the poor bastard sleep a little while longer, but I'd rather be safer than sorry._

Clearing his throat, he reached towards the back seat and shook the blanket that lay across the floor.

"Coast is clear, friend. You can sit back up now."

The blanket moved and Cryndor re-emerged into the back seat of the car with a look of distaste at his chauffeur.

"I thought they had sealed the borders," he quipped. "Guess being RDF has its advantages."

"They weren't formally sealed as of yet when we crossed," Ortega responded. "We just managed to time it right."

"Lucky us," came the deadpan response.

"Ya know, for a Zentraedi, you have a pretty good sense of humor," Ortega shot back with a smile.

"I fail to find the humor in our current plight, Lieutenant," Cryndor responded. "So, what is your grand plan, Lieutenant?"

"If things go as they should, we should be in Asuncion in about two hours or so. From there, I have a contact that can get us out of here and someplace a lot safer."

"Such as?"

"Haven't decided yet. Hard to determine what's actually 'safe' in these parts at the moment. From what the radio is stating, the _policia_ , RDF, and these new auxiliaries are all over the place in the major cities."

"So," Cryndor surmised. "If your forces are operating in the major cities and looking for Zentraedi, would it make sense to, oh I don't know, _**not**_ drive into a quadrant capital with me in tow?"

Ortega remained quiet for a minute while he processed the last comment. _Old boy's got a point there,_ he thought. With that, he checked the GPS on the console of the car. _Another wrinkle in this whole thing._

"I see your point. Let me check over something here." A smile came across Ortega's face as he noticed something. _Forgot that was here. That will do nicely._ Taking a quick glance at the gas gauge, he nodded. _Got just enough to get there, barring any incidents or traffic._ "Change in plans, _amigo_. We have a new destination that's about maybe an hour away. I'll have to make a few calls when we get there, but we can lay low and figure out the next steps."

"Wonderful," Cryndor responded with a bit of sarcasm. "I'm guessing your 'grand plan' wasn't much of one when we started on this."

"No better than the one your buddies came up with."

Cryndor was about to raise an objection, but thought better of it. _As annoying as this Micronian is, he is right. Our plan fell apart like what they call 'a house of cards'._

As the two unlikely allies were discussing the merits of the plan, or if there was one even in place, they failed to notice a hidden patrol car off to the side of the road as they drove past. Inside the patrol car were two tough looking individuals in black uniforms. The passenger looked as the car went past and noticed the plate. Tapping his counterpart on the shoulder, he smiled.

"It's them. And the Xerox is with him."

The driver nodded. "Time to catch our quarry. Flip the lights on when we get close."

The other man nodded as the car accelerated out of its hiding spot.

* * *

Inside of a smaller room in the dwelling they called home, Quazmin, Pyoto, and Xamdar huddled in front of a smaller viewscreen as they attempted to make contact with their mission's overall commanders. Quazmin nodded over to Pyoto, who in turn tapped in a code and pressed a button. The screen began to shift and come alive. Eventually, the visage of a man in a Zentraedi uniform came over the screen.

"Ah, Grel is it? Is Lady Azonia about?"

"You weren't supposed to contact us for at least another standard month," came the terse reply. "I can only guess something has come about that demands our immediate attention."

"The information blasts here from the Micronians have been rather interesting over the past few hours. And it is something that demands her attention as well as yours."

Grel sighed. "I figured as much. Please stand by while I patch Lady Azonia in."

The screen split in two as a woman in uniform came up on the second half of the screen.

"So," Azonia stated. "This is the infamous Quazmin. Khyron was right, you do look a lot like him. You must be very popular in Macross among the Micronians," she added with a bit of sarcasm.

"Enough of the pleasantries, Azonia," Quazmin quipped back. "I wouldn't be reaching out to you unless it was important."

"Go ahead, Quazmin. What, pray tell, is going on down on that pathetic dustball of a planet?"

"Well, it seems some of our warriors got a tad rash with one of their 'message sending' attempts to the Micronians."

"Define rash?"

"They attempted to blow up a minor officer in the command structure of the Southern Quadrants." A map came up of the continent of South America, with a dot in the location of Buenos Aires. "However, they miscalculated and ended up killing a number of the leaders of these quadrants."

Azonia smiled. "That's not that much of a bad thing," she stated. "So a few of these specks got burned from the skies. It's not like we've done that before or anything."

Quazmin's expression caused the smile to disappear. "It's caused a reaction. The Micronians down in those quadrants are now appearing to be actively hunting our warriors down there and possibly proceeding with a liquidation measure. We cannot confirm that as of yet, but all signs from his speech earlier point towards it." A recording of Leonard's speech appeared on the screen, complete with subtitles in Tirolian. "You're probably familiar with the leader of the forces there."

It was then Azonia noticed who the Micronian at the podium was. Whatever traces of the smile she had on her face had completely drifted away and was replaced by a scowl.

"He wouldn't dare!"

Quazmin nodded. "He hasn't, as of yet. The warriors we're in contact with are bracing for an action though by the Micronians."

"And the situation where you are?"

"Quiet for now. However, I doubt that will last long. Pyoto may have a bit more on that."

Pyoto nodded. "I just had ventured out before this communication, M'lady. Some of the warriors are a bit apprehensive at the moment, but there's been no move by the Micronians here. Just some extra drones about keeping an eye on things if anything."

"Understood. For now, be vigilant. But if an opportunity presents itself, do not be afraid to take advantage."

Xamdar smiled. "I may have some leads from some old contacts I had among the Micronians. It may take some cultivating, but we could be in a position where we can hinder the RDF's ability to fully implement their plans in the Southern Quadrants by tying up a number of their forces here."

Azonia pondered this. "Interesting. Still the intriguer, Xamdar. Hopefully, this attempt doesn't end as poorly as your last one."

A dark look came over Xamdar's face at the reminder of his past failures. "This time, it will be different, m'lady," he spat out.

"For your sake, it had better be. You are also lucky Khyron is still out of communication range due to the fold. Once they have come out of fold, I will try to send a blast to him appraising him of the situation. He may go along with it, he may not. However, as he is not here and I am the ranking officer, I will give you this one chance to redeem yourself, Xamdar."

She then glared back.

"Pyoto, Quazmin, if he fails, his life is forfeit. That is coming from Lord Khyron himself."

All three nodded.

"Keep us updated as to the situation. And make sure your communications are shielded. I doubt the Micronians would be too happy that we are still among the living," Azonia stated.

With that, the screen went dark. Quazmin and Pyoto turned towards Xamdar.

"What is your plan, anyways?" questioned Quazmin.

"The Micronians have a saying," Xamdar said with a smile. "That saying is 'money talks'. I should have access to my old accounts as I have plenty of their trade credits stored up. From there, I have some contacts that I can probably get information from. May take a bit of these credits as these Micronians are greedy, but I think I can get something in place that may benefit all of us."

Quazmin looked at Pyoto and then over at Xamdar.

"How long will this take?"

"Probably at least a few weeks, unless, as the Micronians say, something falls into our laps."

Quazmin gave Xamdar a hard look. "You had better not fail again, Xamdar. I doubt Azonia or Khyron would lose much sleep over your termination." _And neither would I,_ he added silently.

* * *

 _Only another forty klicks to go,_ Ortega thought to himself as he kept driving down the _autostrada_. Earlier, he had made sure to reach out to his contacts regarding the changes to the plans. _At least I made sure to send a warning that I was coming this time,_ he thought. _Doubt they'd be too happy about an unannounced visit under these circumstances._

As he was driving, he noticed a car approaching from behind.

 _Odd, didn't see that earlier. Could have sworn we were the only ones on the road today._

The approaching car accelerated and began to close the gap between them. It was a split second later he saw the light array on top of the car come on.

" _¡Mierda!_ Of all the things," he spat out silently.

"What's going on?"

 _Not silently enough. Well, this is about to get tricky,_ he thought.

"Guess I blew past a speed trap," Ortega stated nonchalantly.

"Wait a second? We're about to get pulled over?" Cryndor responded. A vile Tirolian curse passed his lips as he realized the driver of the other car saw him in the back seat.

Cryndor's eyes went wide as he noticed that Ortega was slowing down.

"Are you insane? We can outrun them!"

"It'd be more insane to try and outrun these guys," Ortega shot back. "Better to deal with one or two _federales_ as opposed to a squad of them. And, around these parts, they tend to shoot first and not ask any questions if it comes to a chase."

In the other car, the two men watched and smiled as the car in front of them slowed down and moved towards the side of the road. The area was a bit more mountainous than the earlier jungle area prior. Seeing where the car in front of them was planning on stopping, it appeared to be perfect.

 _A nice little ravine. A perfect place to hide two bodies and a burned out car,_ the driver thought as the car in front slowed and finally came to a stop.

The driver turned to his passenger and nodded. Both men pulled out pistols and cocked them, taking the safeties off. "Simple job," the driver stated. "We walk over, double tap the traitor and the Xerox, and then dump the car over the ledge. Make it look like a bad accident."

"Roger that. _Mit Ehre, Freund_."

 _"Mit Ehre."_

The two men got out of the car and made their way over to the stopped car in front of them. Drawing their weapons, they looked inside and saw the back seat was empty. Looking towards the front of the car, they saw nobody was there.

" _Wo zum Teufel waren sie?!"_ one of the men spat out.

Another voice came up behind them.

" _¡_ _Hola pendejos!"_

Ortega smiled as he had his sidearm out. Two shots rang out and the two black uniformed men dropped to the ground, both shot between the eyes. Checking over, Ortega went over to the trunk and popped it open. Cryndor looked over at him, then to the two on the ground.

"Two problems solved," Ortega deadpanned. He looked at one of the men, then at Cryndor. "Grab his uniform and put your clothes on him. And make it quick. Eventually, someone's gonna notice that these _maricons_ are missing."

"That's a uniform I've never seen before," Cryndor stated as he was stripping the now dead man on the ground.

"It's nothing the RDF or the _policia_ issue around here," Ortega responded. He glanced at the patch on the sleeve and winced. _Guess Leonard wasn't kidding,_ he thought. "They're Iron Brigade."

"Iron Brigade?"

"Militia group. They date back to the Civil Wars here before you guys showed up. Real nasty bunch. Not sad I bumped off these two. Humanity will prosper with these _pendejos_ out of the gene pool."

"The ones your insane Colonel, how you say, deputized?"

Ortega nodded. In a short time, both had changed and were wearing the black uniform of the Iron Brigade and had placed the two men now wearing their old clothes in the car they had been using. Thinking for a second, Ortega grabbed a small piece of metal from a pouch. For a minute, Cryndor noticed that Ortega was doing something to the now dead man that was in the front. As Ortega finished up, he motioned Cryndor to come over.

"Hold out your finger."

"For what re...OW! That hurt!"

Ortega took the small piece of metal he had used to prick Cryndor's finger and put into a small device. He attached the small device to the corpse in the back seat and pressed a button. The device hummed for a few seconds, then beeped.

"What did you do?" Cryndor asked.

"Just scrambled that guy's DNA. Basically, I took your DNA sample with that blood and injected and replicated it in this poor bastard here."

"What? How?"

Ortega shook his head as he made his way to the front of the car and put the gear in Drive. He noticed there was a gap in the rails wide enough for a car to fit through and smiled. "No time to explain it now. Right now, I need your help to push this junker over there."

They started to push the car. As it got closer to the gap, it dawned on Cryndor what Ortega was doing.

"You did the same thing to the driver too with your blood?"

Ortega nodded.

A few seconds later, the car dropped over the edge and plummeted down the ravine. A loud crashing noise followed by a muffled rumble confirmed the car had finished its rapid decent. Looking over the edge, Ortega and Cryndor noticed the car was fully engulfed in flames.

Ortega patted Cryndor on the shoulder and shot him a smile.

"So, how does it feel to be dead?"

Cryndor shrugged. "It is not the first time, Micronian. However, at least there's no aftertaste from the nutrient solution."

Ortega did his best to stifle a laugh as they made their way back to their new ride.

* * *

 _ **A/N** \- So, a lot of movement here. However, there wasn't much focus in our intrepid little band of heroes that call Macross home. However, there'll be a lot more of them in the next installment. Also, this one does ping-pong a bit between scenes. It made sense to do it in this fashion and hopefully that gets conveyed._

 _Been a bit remiss to answer a few reviews that have come in since the reboot._

 ** _Blue-Azul-Acero_** _\- Indeed I have! Just had a minor case of the muse escaping and deciding to run away to some deserted island (that and a few real life situations cropping up). Eventually it got back to me here and I've been able to get things going again._

 ** _Remember Crazy_** _\- Glad you're enjoying it. Leonard's still got quite a few things up his sleeve, so it remains to see what will happen next. He's a devious and ruthless sort, so pretty much anything is on the table._

 _Reviews are always nice!_

 ** _A/N #2 (4/13/18)_** _\- Caught a spelling error. Changed accordingly._


	8. Ch 8 - Always In Motion

_**Author's Note** \- Yes, I know it's been quite a while since I last touched this story. To be honest, it's been a combination of work being in an upswing and also my writing muse deciding to go on an extended vacation. However, I think the muse is back and work is a little bit more manageable right now. But, for now, we're back in business. Once again, reviews are nice. I'll try to answer a few as they come rolling in. Anyhow, enjoy the newest installment._

 _ **Edit (8/18/18) - Made a minor adjustment to the timeframe on one point. It'll make sense in the next chapter.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Eight – Always In Motion**

As the lights faded and the cameras went offline in the conference room, Colonel Anatole Leonard was in a mood that most of his colleagues back at Macross Command would have found strange and totally out of character. Normally known for his no-nonsense and dour demeanor that bordered on full apoplectic rage on even the most mundane of occasions, the newly minted commander of the RDF ground forces in the South American Quadrants had a broad smile across his face as he exited towards his office. Most of the minor functionaries that passed by him in the corridors tried not to take notice at the drastic change in their overall commander's demeanor, but it was pretty hard not to notice this change. Paying no mind to those around him, Leonard continued on his walk back towards his office area, thinking over the next steps of what was to come in the near future.

 _Getting the groundwork for Southern Cross was relatively simple enough,_ he thought as he continued on his walk back. _Was hoping some of the governors would have gone along with this, but it seems they decided on a different path. Oh well, at least they did serve a minor purpose today,_ he added with a bit of malice. _As for the commanders, most got the hint it seems. Now it's a matter of if they learned from the little object lesson as well. I'd hate to go ahead with a repeat of this morning._

The smile lessened as he found himself thinking of some of his other RDF colleagues. _I doubt this went over well back at Macross. I can only imagine Henry's reaching out to Monument right now trying to find out what is going on. And the two children are probably figuring out ways to avoid any potential moves of forces from their precious Macross Command._ A slight sneer came over Leonard as he continued to think through the possibilities. _Don't fret, Hunter. I have no plans of calling in you or your precious Skull Squadron. At least not yet. Not until there's been some changes in command. And by that time, it won't be any of your concern or that of the Commodore either. By that time, you both will be well out of the picture. Along with your benefactor._

The smile returned, but had a heavy dose of darkness behind it.

 _Henry, you had every chance to be a part of this. We could have set things right and shown those foolish greedy bastards in Monument how to run things. But, sadly, you've become as much a part of the problem as they have. I hate to have to push friends aside, but frankly, **tovarishch**_ , _you only did this to yourself._

Leonard reached the wing where his office was located and gave the orderly at the front a quick nod, silently communicating that he did not wish to be disturbed. Making his way down the hall towards the main office, the smile that was in place grew at the next thought.

 _And as for my 'sponsors' up in Monument, your time is coming as well. As much as I want to see you go as well, I do still need you for the time being. But, your usefulness is running out and I would really hate to be you when that day comes._

Opening the door to his office area, Leonard reached into his pocket for a cigarette. Lighting it up as he walked over to his desk, he sat back in the chair and blew out a large cloud of smoke. _Time to see if those idiots actually listened or if we're in for a replay of what happened in Buenos Aires this morning,_ he thought to himself as he checked over some of the news feeds from the surrounding quadrants.

A smile came over Leonard as he watched the latest information stream in. One by one, the other quadrants he had mentioned in the speech were having a secondary press conference start up as each of the commanding officers took their role as the new government lead as ordered. Picking up the receiver to his phone, he dialed a well-remembered extension and waited.

"Raven, it appears we don't have to invoke our contingency plan after all. They're playing ball on this."

 _"Indeed, Colonel. I believe you were able to reason with them effectively. That and the object lesson didn't hurt either."_

Leonard nodded. "Unfortunate some could not see through the error of their ways. No matter, let us put that in the past and look ahead."

 _"So, I gather Phase One of the plan is to start shortly?"_

"Yes. We just need to have our assets fully in place before we go ahead with that step. San Rafael will be an effective starting point. Are your men ready?"

 _"We should be all set within the next hour."_

"Also, the backup for your forces are in place as well. If things get out hand, we should be able to take care it without any issue."

 _"The men are rather pleased that they actually have some authorities backing them for once. Beats being on the other end of an armored division."_

"Not that a little thing like that ever stopped you before," Leonard added with a hint of sarcasm.

 _"You do have a point there,"_ came the rejoinder from the other side. _"Also, you aren't going to let a little criticism of your 'heavy-handed' actions get in the way of going forward either, am I correct, Colonel?"_

Leonard took a long drag off of the cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray. "Hardly. However, some voices are going to be a bit louder than others if we proceed. Voices that actually will get listened to if they talk to the right people."

 _"Hmmm. I thought you said that was covered."_

"Rather be safer than sorry on that. However, you did say something about something that could help us going forward and keep our friends up North occupied? I think we may have to implement that, against my better judgement."

 _"Understood. It's a little unorthodox, but it will pay dividends in more than one way."_

Leonard nodded. "It's not something I'm overly comfortable with, but, you're right. Sometimes going against the grain keeps everyone off balance, and we need Macross to be off balance." He scanned over a terminal and smiled. "I think this may do the trick."

A brief pause came up before Raven continued. _"Definitely. This will work out nicely. Although, this may be a gamble here and there is the potential this could backfire."_

"Only if we're not careful. Also, if it does blow up, we'll be far enough away from the epicenter that we'll be in the clear." _More like, I'll be in the clear,_ Leonard added silently.

 _"Guess I have a few calls to make. I'll update you once everything is all set."_

With that, Leonard placed the receiver to the phone back in its cradle, reached into his pocket and lit another cigarette.

 _I'm not a complete fan of what you had proposed earlier on, Raven,_ Leonard thought as he took a drag. _But, as you said, it's unorthodox, but if successful, would clear a major obstacle or at least keep a potential one tied up until it's way too late._

* * *

Back at Macross Command, one of the larger conference rooms found itself in use as the fallout from Leonard's speech was being fully assessed. The current conversation going on in the room involved the commanding officer of the massive base, Admiral Henry Gloval, and a member of the UEG Senate that represented the Macross Quadrant. This conversation had come about due to the invocation of a piece of legislation by Colonel Leonard during the speech in question.

"So, Senator," Gloval intoned with a slight hint of frustration. "You mean to tell me that this act taken by Colonel Leonard was in fact, legal?"

"Afraid so, Admiral," the senator stated. "Under the circumstances down there, it was a legal use of the Emergency Powers Act as it was written. As the ranking official left alive at the time, he would be able to take control in his capacity as a quadrant commander and also institute martial law as needed."

"Strange that we were never notified that this act was in place."

"The act was just passed recently. Senator Russo fast tracked this about a month ago and it went through last week, over the objections of the Council might I add."

Gloval frowned and shook his head. _I should have known he'd be involved in something like this,_ he added silently.

The senator continued on. "I voted against this as it was a clear violation of the UEG Charter regarding the separation of powers between the executive branch and the military. That's also why the Council rejected it as well. Somehow, our old friend had enough votes to override that veto."

Lisa was taking in the conversation and noticed the concerned looks coming up from the assembled pilots in the room with her and the Admiral. Most notably, she was focused in on one pilot in particular. Turning towards Captain Rick Hunter, she could only sigh.

"Sorry, Rick," she said softly. "Looks like we'd be obligated to help him if he asks for help."

"So I noticed," he responded. Looking over at the others, he sighed resignedly as well. "I'm not in favor of it, and it appears I'm not alone in that."

It was just then that the transmission with Monument cut off and the Admiral turned towards the others that were assembled in the room.

Taking his pipe out of his jacket pocket, Gloval struck a match and lit the pipe. Taking a puff, he sighed as he expelled the smoke out into the room.

"As you have heard, it appears that Colonel Leonard has the backing of Monument on this issue and has a free hand down in the South American Quadrants thanks to that _oprometchiivyy_ piece of legislation that was passed. This means we would be technically obligated to help him if he requests it."

Gloval scanned the room and saw the sour looks from the assembled group. _Nobody seems to be very keen on lending a hand to our old friend either,_ he thought. _It is a decision I would not want to make as it is one I cannot support. However, as long as Anatole has the ear of Monument, our hands are tied._

"So," Commander Tom Wilcox stated plainly. "We're damned if we do and damned if we don't, Admiral?"

"It seems to be the case, Commander," Gloval answered.

* * *

It was just then one of the others in the room, Lieutenant Commander Ben Dixon to be exact, noticed something on one of the viewscreens.

"Are you **kidding** me? What the hell are you doing, Leonard?"

The others turned towards the source of the outburst. The Admiral was the first to speak. "Is there something I should be aware of, Lieutenant Commander Dixon?" he stated with a undercurrent of malice.

"Sorry for the outburst, sir," Ben stammered. "But I think things in Buenos Aires are about to pick up." He pointed to the viewscreen.

Lisa noted which viewscreen it was was and brought it up on to the main screen. The picture that it projected was not a pleasant one. It was a feed from one of the news channels covering the situation in Buenos Aires and the latest images showed what was the entrance to one of the areas the Zentraedi in the city called home. It appeared to be surrounded by a number of men in black uniforms, with some number of the local police force, and a few regular RDF forces as well. What caused more the of the concern were the number of Destroids that were near by.

"Well, that escalated quickly," Wilcox deadpanned.

Rick looked over at the other pilots assembled and shook his head before averting his gaze towards the ceiling. _Damnit, Leonard, you're going to start a damn war by doing this. The more I see of what you're doing, the more I'm against this._ He then looked over to Lisa and smiled grimly.

Lisa caught sight of Rick's look towards her and matched it. _I don't see a good way out of this, Rick,_ she thought to herself. _Especially if Leonard is about to do what we think he is. And I can tell you don't like this. I don't either._

Admiral Gloval took in the incoming pictures and information and felt his anger growing by the second. _Thundering asteroids, Anatole! This madness needs to stop!_

Turning to his console, Gloval stabbed at a button. "Get Colonel Leonard on the line and tell that _suka_ I wish to speak with him. I do not care if he is about to lead an attack or if he's on his way to the head to take a _der'mo_. I want him on this line. **_Right_. _Now_**. You got that? Thank you." He stabbed the button to cut off the communication with a bit more force than usual.

During this time, Lisa had felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Walking towards the back, she took out the phone and tapped the screen. A few seconds later, she turned back towards the others.

"That was Lieutenant Young over in Signals. She has a direct communication in place with Breetai."

Gloval smiled grimly. "This may be of help here. At the very least, we will know of their disposition with these actions in Buenos Aires. And hopefully, we can keep from having any...misunderstandings as well."

Rick nodded as he heard this. _Having Breetai and his remaining fleet turn into enemies is the last thing we need. Even with the minimal amounts of ships he has, well by Zent standards, he could still wreak havoc on us if he decided to._

Gloval nodded to Lisa, who then tapped the phone again.

"Lieutenant, go ahead and patch that transmission through."

* * *

In the area between Earth and the moon, a small, but significant remnant of the once mighty Zentraedi fleet that menaced the planet years prior remained in orbit above. The fleet, commanded by one of the Zentraedi's most feared and respected commanders, Lord Breetai, had gone from being an implacable foe to that of strong ally to the residents of the planet below.

However, the events of the day on the surface of the planet looked to be challenging this notion. Above the bridge of the main cruiser in the fleet, Breetai and his trusted aide, Exedore, watched events from below with a growing sense of dread and dismay.

"What is it that this madman is trying to prove?" Breetai questioned as he viewed the latest transmissions from the surface. The image in front of them showed a shot of a _barrio_ with a number of Destroids surrounding part of the perimeter of the location, accompanied by a number of ground troops in various uniforms, with a majority wearing black.

Exedore could only shake his head. "The Micronians have proven to be unpredictable in their actions, my Lord. Even after the last five years, we still find ourselves learning something new each day about how they operate and think."

"Indeed, Exedore. However, these events on the surface are rather dismaying. Especially with the insinuation from Colonel Leonard that their Supreme Council is in favor of these actions."

"What our our assets on the surface? Do we not have any in that particular quadrant or any near by that may be able to lend some further insight into what is going on?"

Exedore shook his head. "Unfortunately, my Lord, we did have an asset in place in this 'Buenos Aires' settlement that is becoming most prominent on their information blasts. However, this asset, a warrior called Vondin, has not reported back in the last standard week. There are unconfirmed reports that he may have met a less than satisfactory end."

A grimace came over Breetai's face at this news. "Unfortunate indeed. And knowing how tight knit the Malcontents are on the surface, if Vondin had been able to infiltrate and is now no longer operative, it would take time to get another one in place in one of these cells." It was one thing that Breetai had silently applauded Khyron about with his setting up of the Malcontent resistance on the surface. He had made the cells very difficult to infiltrate, thus making any attempts to see what was going on with the groups that much more difficult to discern.

"Speaking of this," Breetai continued. "Have we been able to infiltrate the ones in Macross itself yet?"

Exedore cracked a smile. "Indeed we have, my Lord. I have been in touch with our operatives there and I can confirm that one has been able to gain the confidence of a rather prominent cell. One of the survivors from the 'Army of Righteousness', a warrior by the name of Pyoto if I recall correctly, is one of the leaders. Our asset should be able to give us a more detailed view of their attitudes and positions in the coming days." A quizzical look came over Exedore as he continued. "Should we let Admiral Gloval know about this as of yet?"

Breetai shook his head. "Unfortunately, we cannot, at least right now. We do not know if he endorses the acts by Colonel Leonard or ordered them himself. Remember, Leonard was stationed at Macross Command before shifting his operations down to those quadrants. We still do not know if he moved down there on Gloval's orders or not."

"It would be dismaying if the Admiral was behind this course of action."

"Indeed it would. He has become a valued ally over the years and also a good friend. I would be very disappointed if he, Captain Hunter, and Commodore Hayes agreed to this. I do not wish for them to become our adversaries again, but if that is how fate has spelled out how these events are to transpire, so be it."

A high-pitched squawk came over the speakers, followed by a tinny voice. "My Lord, we are being hailed by the surface. Macross Command to be exact."

Exedore looked over at Breetai. "It appears the Admiral is reaching out to us. No doubt, it's to gauge our knowledge of the situation on the surface and see, as they would say, where we stand on the matter."

Breetai nodded and looked towards the pick-up. "Go ahead and patch them through."

* * *

The main viewscreen in the conference room blinked to life and within seconds, a view of both Breetai and Exedore came up on the screen. Concerned looks on both sides were noticed by the individuals involved in the conversation. The room was silent for a few seconds before Admiral Gloval started the awaited conversation.

"Lord Breetai, Councillor Exedore, I wish this was under better circumstances."

"Indeed, Admiral. Let us, as you would say, cut right to the chase. What is exactly the meaning of what is going on in that quadrant right now?"

"We just got notified about this ourselves in the same manner I believe you were, that is through the information blasts."

Both Breetai and Exedore nodded to confirm this fact, while Gloval continued on.

"From what we've gathered, it appears that Colonel Leonard is attempting to find those responsible for the incident earlier today. Although I do agree that those responsible do need to answer for what happened, going about it in this way is only going to escalate what is an already tense situation."

"Agreed, Admiral," Exedore stated plainly. "We did have assets in place in that quadrant, but we have not heard from them in about a standard week of so. We believe that one of the Malcontent cells was trying to, how you say, 'send a message' to your Colonel Leonard by liquidating one of his key staff members."

A number of the assembled officers back at Macross shook their heads at this news.

"We believe the target was one Lieutenant Ortega, who was the head of the RDF Intelligence wing in that quadrant, if I am not mistaken?"

Lisa's nod confirmed this fact for Exedore. "We haven't heard from Lieutenant Ortega since the blast this morning. It's assumed he was one of the casualties in this attack." She paused briefly and looked over to Admiral Gloval before continuing. Gloval gave Lisa a short nod. "Also, it appears that most of the regional governors for that area were in a scheduled meeting when the attack happened."

Breetai nodded in understanding. "So, that is what Leonard meant by 'assuming control'?"

Gloval nodded. "Yes, he and the other RDF military assets took command of the civil authority along with their military command. Right now, thanks to the void created by this attack, they are the final authority in these areas. It is something we do not take lightly. Earth has had way too many military types supersede the civilian governments in the past. It has a very predictable habit of causing nothing but further troubles."

Exedore caught something in how Gloval responded. _You do not agree with the step your colleague took, Admiral. That is plainly obvious. I can also tell from the looks from Commodore Hayes and Captain Hunter that they do not agree either._

Breetai glanced over at Exedore and got a nod back in return. He sighed briefly before asking the question that had been in his mind for some time. "So, Admiral, I can assume that you did not give Leonard this order to surround that settlement?"

Gloval nodded. "Colonel Leonard has not even bothered to respond to my inquiries, Lord Breetai. And any time he would have needed my approval on something, he's circumvented it by going to the Council first."

Both Zentraedi on the other side of the screen had a shocked look at the disclosure of this information. _As you Micronians would say,_ Breetai thought. _I know that feeling, Admiral. Leonard is acting much like Khyron did when we were pursuing you._

"I have tried to get a hold of the Colonel again," Gloval continued, punctuating his point with a resigned sigh. "But, seeing how he senses that he has the Council on his side, I doubt he would listen to any sort of reason from myself."

"This is a very unfavorable situation," Breetai stated. "At least one of my concerns has been wiped away with this conversation. I was hopeful you and your staff were not involved in this madness. That thought, I can see, is one that had zero merit. And for that, I am grateful. I would have hated to see us become foes again."

"The feeling is mutual, Lord Breetai," Gloval responded. "Unfortunately, for now, there is not much we can do here at Macross outside of keep an eye on the situation with the settlements where the Zentraedi are situated. Hopefully, events down there do not cause any issues up here."

Both Breetai and Exedore nodded. "Indeed. It is a delicate time. A wrong move could cause greater problems. We will keep an eye on the situation up here and check back if we have any further insights." With that, the screen went black, leaving both sides deep in conversation as to their next steps.

* * *

On their ship above Earth, Breetai looked over at Exedore and nodded. "Reach out to our operatives in Macross. I want as much information as we can get. As soon as we have it, I will be sharing the information with Admiral Gloval."

Exedore blinked for a second. "Are you sure it is wise to share anything with the Admiral right now?"

Breetai nodded. "If there is one thing I know about Gloval, he is honest. I did not detect any dishonesty in his statements and he also appeared to be as genuinely surprised as we were at the moves happening on the surface."

Exedore nodded in return. "I did not detect any malice on his part either. Also, it appears that his subordinates are just as disgusted with the events as we are."

"I did notice that as well," came the response. "I'm sure our sources in Macross will confirm what we feel, that Gloval and his staff had nothing to do with this madness. If that is the case, then I see no issue in sharing information with them."

Exedore smiled. "I should be able to confirm this when they report in."

"Make this a high priority, Exedore. Even though I have faith in the Admiral and the others at Macross Command, one cannot ever be too sure of things."

A quick nod of agreement followed. "We will need to communicate this to the others as well," Exedore replied. "I can sense that these actions will not be taken lightly and it would be highly detrimental if members of our fleet decided to act independently."

Breetai nodded as he considered this potential issue as well. "It would be another issue on top of the others that this action has caused. I will be speaking with all of them shortly. For now, I think it may be best if we get in touch with our assets on the planet soon rather than later to get a better scope of what is exactly going on and what the situation is like there."

"As you command, my Lord."

As Exedore left the bridge area, Breetai looked out the main viewscreen, which was dominated by the Earth. _The Micronians always maintained that from this distance, the planet does appear to be peaceful,_ he mused. _However, events as covered on their information blasts seem to contradict that. I can only hope that this is not an instance when the fighting is to restart. Especially if it means that we would be on opposite sides. I can speak for myself that I would not attack, but I cannot make those assurances for others in the fleet. I can only hope I can reason with them that by interfering, we may make things worse._

* * *

As attention was focused in on events in Buenos Aires, deep in the Paraguayan Quadrant, a black sedan made its way down a little used dirt road towards a clearing. Inside of the car, the driver was focusing on what would be happening once they reached their destination. In the back, the passenger also had the same apprehensions, but found himself trying to put his thoughts into words without much success for most of the journey.

"So," the passenger finally stated. "Where is you are taking me to and how can your 'friends' help out?" adding a twinge of sarcasm when stating the word 'friends'.

"We're meeting up with some friends that feel the same way I do," the driver stated plainly. "Have faith, _amigo._ I'm sure they will be able to assist. They've never failed me in the past."

"Sorry if I am not, as you say, confident, Lieutenant," the passenger shot back. "I've been hearing how your 'friends' operate on the communications blasts we've been listening to since leaving Buenos Aires."

"You're gonna have to trust me on this one," came the response. "Right now, you don't have a lot of options. Especially seeing the Iron Brigade now mixed up in this. They have no love for your kind, that's for sure. Or for the RDF for that matter."

"So why is this insane Colonel of yours getting them mixed into this if they are not allies of the RDF, or did I assume too much, Ortega?"

"That is something I'll need to research when we get to our destination. For now, once we get there, we'll need to hide out until things blow over a bit and its a bit safer to travel. If those _Brigata de Ferrer pendejos_ are about here in this quadrant, there's a good chance they'll be in other nearby quadrants as well. Look, Cryndor. We're both wanted beings right now. Hopefully our little diversion back on the _autostrada_ will throw them off the trail just long enough to get us out of here safely."

Silence followed as the information relayed was being processed. "But we were able to scram.."

"They're also going to figure out that two of their guys are missing," the Lieutenant shot back. "Eventually, they'll do the math and see that it wasn't us in that other car. Hopefully by the time those morons figure it out, we'll be well out of their reach." Ortega's attention was distracted for a second as he saw the forest drift aside and a clearing open up. "We're here," came the quick response.

In front of the car was a tiny compound that appeared to look like a ranch. Attached to it was a small chapel. Inside of the gates of the compound were men in robes, tending to the farm animals and working on other minor chores around the grounds. As they approached the gate, one of the men in robes stood silently by as if he were manning a checkpoint.

The car rolled to a stop and Ortega put the window down.

"Greetings, brother. The Abbot was expecting us."

"Indeed he was, my child. Welcome to _Santa Isabel_ Monastery."

 _"Gracias, hermano._ "

With that, the gate opened and the car was motioned through. Heading towards a more secluded area, the car came to a stop by one of the barns.

"More of this religion thing, Lieutenant? With all this superstition, it is a wonder how you beat us."

"God works in mysterious ways, Cryndor," came the response. "This is our best bet right now. The monastery is secluded enough and won't attract attention. Also, Colonel Leonard wouldn't dare try anything with this, not if he doesn't want the people of these quadrants to rise up against him. Besides, this place is full of surprises," Ortega added with a wink.

"Once again, not a comforting thought, Lieutenant," Cryndor deadpanned. "Seeing what you Micronians call surprises usually ends up badly for my kind, you'll forgive my apprehension."

With that the two exited the car and made their way over to the main residence area. As they approached, one of the monks that called the monastery home came towards them and smiled.

"Lieutenant Ortega, Mister Cryndor. I am Brother Maynard. His Grace is waiting in his office."

Polite smiles came over the two. "Lead the way, Brother," Ortega stated quietly as they entered.

* * *

Back at Macross Command, the meeting among the higher level officers had broken up and the members of Skull Squadron that had attended had arrived back in their wing of the complex. The assembled officer staff for the squadron was in a separate area, going over the details of how they were going to relay the information that had been disclosed earlier.

Among the assembled officers, the commanding officer of the squadron and the overall Commander of the Air Wing for Macross Command, Rick Hunter, sat in a chair, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the next steps that would need to be taken.

The silence in the room was broken by a somewhat unexpected voice, that of Major Amelia Niebauer. "Boss, what are we gonna do on this one? It seems that it's pretty likely we're gonna get roped into whatever it is Colonel Leonard is doing if he asks for help."

Rick nodded sadly. "Yeah, it's really lookin' that way, Nibs."

"I don't like this, not one damn bit," came the response from Lieutenant Commander Ben Dixon. "What Leonard is doing down there is beyond reckless. I mean, he's apt to touch off a firestorm if he goes through and attacks that neighborhood."

The others assembled nodded in agreement. Rick also joined in this and stood up from his chair.

"I don't like this either. It goes against everything we've signed on for and fought for over the past years." A deep sigh followed before he continued. "However, if the Admiral or Lisa says its a go, we pretty much have no choice but to go, even if we're not in favor." _The only way we don't go is if we disobey a direct order, which means court martials aplenty,_ he added silently. _And trips to New Leavenworth. I doubt Lisa or the Admiral would sign off on that. The only other option would be to resign from the RDF, but that's another extreme._

"Like Wilcox said," Commander Max Sterling stated plainly, "We're damned if we do and damned if we don't." He shook his head and looked over at his wife and fellow officer, Lieutenant Commander Miriya Sterling. A faint smile came over Max's face. "However, it hasn't come to that yet."

Rick nodded. "True. Right now, we just have to plan for that eventuality if it does come up."

"Also," Ben chimed in. "What's to say that the Frag doesn't go bonkers over this either. That's another consideration."

Rick nodded. "Very true as well. I don't see anything Leonard doing playing well there at all. It may mean we may have our hands full here at home and couldn't assist him, even if he demanded it. And neither the Admiral or Lisa are going to sacrifice Macross or Monument for Buenos Aires."

The others nodded, understanding what was implied.

Rick continued. "So, right now, our best course of action is to brace the others that yes, this may happen. Right now, it's business as usual, but keep your guard up."

With that, the group started to make their way out of the office area towards the main common area for the squadron. As they left, Rick motioned over to Max and Ben. Once the others had left, he turned towards his two most senior officers in the squadron.

"So, we have one other minor complication," he stated. "That is Graham's inability to pass the checkout for the VF-4. The Lightning is close to being cleared for active duty and we'd be the first to change over. From what the guys at Dexter's Lab told me, it should be all set by the end of the week."

Both Ben and Max nodded.

"She still hasn't passed it, from what Ben and Nibs have said," Max stated plainly. "I'm guessing if she doesn't really soon, she's finding a new home?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah, she will be. She'd be attached to a squadron not going over to the VF-4's as fast as Skull is."

"So, basically its put up or shut up time for Mystique," Ben added. "I'm guessing she's getting the standard 'pass or else' speech?"

"Yeah," Rick stated with a hint of disappointment. "Basically, her next one is her last chance. I don't want to do it, but we can't wait up for one pilot on this. Also, there's another consideration that came up."

Rick walked over to the door and shut it.

"This is high level stuff, so none of this gets said to anyone outside of this room without my OK."

A quick nod of acknowledgement came from the others.

"It seems from what Doctor Koromatsu was able to find over at the Skunk Works, someone has been hacking into the VF-4 programming and making slight changes to push the deployment back."

A shocked look came over the faces of Ben and Max.

"We were able to trace it back here to Macross as the source of the hacking. These instances also coincided with when the Lightning was close to being fully rolled out. The most recent one was.."

"The whole issue with the weapons system a few months ago?" Max asked. "Probably also explains the issue with the Guardian mode getting stuck too."

Rick nodded. "Yeah, that one. Also some of the other janky stuff that has happened over the last months as well. I've had Major Rodgers from over at the Geek Squad keep an eye on things since the Doc reported back. He found a solid trace that looks like it came from somewhere here in New Macross right around the time of the incident with Weeble and Meeseeks. He double-checked with the guys at the Skunk Works and they pretty much backed up his finding. I can't fully prove it's someone that's RDF or not, but I have my suspicions."

 _That would explain a lot with what we're seeing with...no, that couldn't be it_ , Max thought. He shook his head as if to chase the implication out of his head.

A look of grave concern came over Ben's face while thinking over the information that was just presented. _It'd answer a whole lotta nagging questions, but if that was the case, it doesn't make any sense whatsoever._

Rick looked at the others. "That's why I want to keep it quiet for now. And if it **is** proven true, I want to have enough evidence that we can present a good case when I take this upstairs."

Max shook his head. "So, **if** , and that is a huge 'if', it turns out it was someone here on base and they get shipped off, wouldn't that possibly encourage them to do something a lot worse?"

"Like possibly screw with the weps system and other things while they're actively deployed?," Ben remarked darkly. "It wouldn't be that much of a stretch and that would be potentially a helluva lot worse than just screwing around with it while in the shakedowns."

Rick nodded. "Yeah, that was one thing that crossed my mind." _Like suddenly cutting off the life support while we're sub orbital. That'd put an end to things really quickly,_ he mused to himself. "It's also all the more reason why we need to get this resolved." A sigh of frustration followed the statement by Rick before he continued.

Max asked the next and most expected question. "Do Lisa and the Admiral know about this yet?"

Rick shook his head. "Not yet. This info only came to me about three or four days ago. I wanted to check with Danny first before going to them. When Doctor Koromatsu said something about what was going on, I frankly didn't believe it. Not that I distrust the good doctor at all, but it was just too unbelievable."

Both Ben and Max nodded. "Well," Max stated plainly. "I think they probably should be in the loop on this. And the sooner the better." Ben nodded in agreement.

Rick nodded as well. "Agreed. Guess I have a few phone calls to make." _If things weren't bad enough, it only figures something else would come along to add to the fun,_ he mused with a sense of resignation. _Just a little extra on the plate._

* * *

In Buenos Aires, the San Rafael _barrio_ was becoming more and more tense as the day wore on. The arrival of the police squadrons and the new wrinkle of an auxiliary force to hem in the residents heightened an already tense situation to a new level.

This was not lost on both Nadtal and Izadu as they observed the growing situation from the roof top of the modest house Izadu called home.

Shaking his head, Izadu sighed as he looked over the mass on the other side of the barriers. _It would appear that the Micronians are, as they would say, spoiling for a fight,_ he thought to himself. Looking back over at his counterpart, he felt a bit of anger rising, but pushed it back down. _Yes, you and your comrades bungled this operation badly, and I probably should have executed you as I did that fool Alondo, but that wouldn't solve our current problem._

Nadtal broke the silence. "I gathered as many of the warriors as I could."

"What do our numbers look like?"

A resigned shake of the head came from Nadtal. "Not even remotely enough as we would need, Izadu. Maybe a few hundred at most. The rest are hiding it out in their houses at present and are apprehensive about coming out."

 _So this is what we've become. Passive. Accepting. That is not the Zentraedi way,_ Izadu thought darkly. _Exposure to the Micronian culture will surely be our end, more so than any military solution by this madman._

A sigh of frustration came forth from Izadu.

Nadtal continued on. "Hopefully that may change if things were to escalate. I would think instinct would kick in if the Micronians were to attack in force."

"I would think it would at that point," Izadu stated plainly. "While you were gathering the men, I did reach back out to some of our friends to the North. For now, we are to **not** to engage the Micronians first."

"Understood. Is it due to our smaller numbers?"

"No. Something else came into play." With that, Izadu pointed towards a helicopter up above. "You see that up there? That is how they're transmitting the information blasts. I was advised we do nothing until the Micronians take the first shot."

"That's madness!"

"Yes, it goes against everything we know of the military arts, Nadtal. I don't agree with it either, but it was stated that if we were to wait, it could cause other problems for the Micronians. As a group, their warriors only comprise a small part of their totals. However, the non-warriors have much more sway in their decision making."

"Yes, I've noticed that over our time here. Seems a bit out of place."

Izadu nodded. "Indeed. Our friend I consulted indicated that if we were attacked as opposed to us attacking them, the non-warriors for the Micronians would become angry and potentially cause their warriors to back down. It was something he described as, 'public opinion'."

Nadtal gave Izadu a quizzical look.

"I don't understand it either, Nadtal," Izadu continued. "However, if we can use it and anything else to our advantage, we would be foolish not to."

Nadtal nodded. "I will relay that information to the men."

"Good, and let them know that if **anyone** deviates from those orders, it would be grounds for immediate termination. Do I make myself clear?"

"Very much so." With that, Nadtal made his way off of the roof and back down to the surface, leaving Izadu to observe the situation.

 _Like my colleague, I have my apprehensions about the course of action we're embarking on,_ he mused. _However, if this works, my source stated that it could trigger infighting among the Micronians. And **that** would be a definite advantage for us._

* * *

The situation in the Frag back in New Macross was slightly less tense than that in Buenos Aires. The reports of the situation were all over the news and were being followed intently by the residents. In one dwelling in the neighborhood, a solitary figure was gazing out of a window at the relative peace and quiet of the area.

In the background, the TV in the main room was on MBS and it's coverage of the situation at San Rafael. Two others were sitting on chairs nearby, watching intently. After a long pause, one began to speak.

"Why haven't the Micronians moved in yet?," one remarked. "It's obvious they have the advantage in manpower. If the roles were reversed.."

"Most likely, they are probably waiting for word from their commanders to move in, Quazmin," another stated. "Much like us, they usually do not go against orders." _Of course, there are exceptions to that,_ the other figure thought as he looked over at his counterpart. _I can think of one right off the top of my head,_ he added darkly.

"That I do understand, Xamdar," Quazmin responded. _And I also understand your implication with that remark too,_ he added silently. Turning to the third figure in the house, Quazmin continued.

"How are things around this area, Pyoto?"

"Quiet for now. I've been in contact with some of our fellow warriors. Nothing out of the ordinary beyond the usual patrols by the Micronian security authorities. No RDF activity at all among them either."

"That is good to know. Although that may change if events change in this 'San Rafael' location."

Pyoto and Xamdar both nodded as Quazmin turned back to Xamdar.

"I am not totally sure about this advice you and Pyoto gave me regarding my instructions to Izadu. It goes against everything we've been taught."

"The Micronians are an interesting race, Quazmin," Pyoto explained. "The non-warriors have much more of a say as to how things are run than among us. This could be of an advantage to us, especially with the news that Xamdar related earlier."

Xamdar smiled. "It was a good thing I had, what the Micronians call, an ace up my sleeve." Turning towards Quazmin, he smiled again. "Do not ask me to explain what they mean by that. I've tried for the past three or four years to figure it out and I still do not understand." A quick nod from Quazmin came forth before Xamdar continued. "I was able to reach out to an old contact and they were able to advise the course of action I had you relate to our brothers in San Rafael. This would have a benefit of causing a situation that would completely distract the Micronians to the point that they would be caught unaware when we were to strike in force."

"So, by not fighting, we could cause them to fight among themselves?"

"Exactly," Pyoto added.

Quazmin smiled and then turned back to Xamdar. "And the other part of your idea?"

"That is still in the works right now. But my contacts are interested, but I am waiting to see how this situation resolves itself first. If it goes according to Colonel Leonard's usual pattern of behavior, we may have some very willing allies among the Micronians. They have a saying about this; 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'."

"They also have another saying too, Xamdar," Pyoto added. "'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.'"

"True, Pyoto, but they would have to actually be 'friends' first."

The three turned back towards the TV in the room, intently watching the unfolding situation.

* * *

Back at Macross Command, the Mess Hall was a buzz of activity as the lunch hour came up. At one of the tables, a few members of Skull Squadron were enjoying a little time away from the simulators. Conversation had been bouncing between both the current state of events in the Argentine Quadrant and also towards the changes that were approaching.

One of the pilots, Major Jack Baker, took a glance at one of the monitors on the wall that was tuned to MBS's coverage of the events going on in Buenos Aires.

"Man, that is not looking good at all," he stated. The current image was that of the massed police and militia around one of the access points to the _barrio_ in question.

Another of the pilots, Sergeant Karen Penn, adjusted her attention towards the monitor after Baker's comment. "All it's going to take is one stupid act by someone on either side to touch off a major situation." She then turned to another at the table. "Think the Admiral sends us down there if the Meatgrinder cries enough, Screech?"

"Not sure," the pilot with that call sign, one Major Fred Malinkowski, responded. "I know we're all hoping that's that not the case, but it's also not our call."

"At least if things do kick off, we may have the VF-4's online by then," Baker added. "That'd be a game changer." He then looked over to one of the others at the table. "Speaking of that.."

A combination of a hard look from the target, one Sergeant Susan Graham, and a light slap on the head from Karen cut Baker off almost immediately.

"Jeez, Jack," Karen stated with a hint of frustration. "You have about as much tact as a Zentraedi sometimes."

Baker rubbed his head and muttered a soft "sorry" towards Graham. The pilot that had been singled out sighed.

"Actually, Jack's got every right to bring that up, Karen," she stated. Graham's issues with passing the final check on the VF-4 simulator program had become a rather notorious concern among the members of Skull Squadron. "Look, I know you guys all talk about how much of a screw-up I must be that I can't pass a simple sim," she said with a hint of frustration. "I'm trying, really. It's just that..."

The conversation was interrupted by someone tapping Graham on the shoulder. She turned around and saw it was Major Amelia Niebauer that had come over.

"Sue," she said without as much as a hint of her usual upbeat attitude. "Boss wants to see you tomorrow at 1300 in the briefing room. It's pretty important and I think you know what it's about." The others watched with a hint of concern.

Graham gave the officer behind her a hurt look. "I understand, _ma'am_ ," came the response, with the last title having just the slightest hint of venom behind it.

This in turn caused Amelia to take a bit of a step back. "Sorry, Sue. I'm just relaying the message on this one. He already tried reaching you on your cell, but never got a response back. That's why I got sent down here."

"I think I had it switched off when I was in the sim and just never turned it back on," Graham responded. "But, yes, I'll be there at 1300." A quick salute followed as Amelia headed back towards a different part of the Mess.

Graham turned to the others and sighed. "I think I'm going to head back over to the hangars. I suddenly just lost my appetite." With that, she grabbed her tray and made her way towards the exit, leaving the others at the table in silence for a few moments until Baker turns towards Karen.

"Hey, do you think that...?"

Karen nodded with a sense of resignation behind it. "Yeah, I do."

They returned to their meal, eating in silence for the rest of the time, processing the implications of what had just happened.

* * *

Making her way out of the Mess Hall, Susan found a quiet area off to the side of one of the main corridors. Looking around quickly, she pulled out a cell phone and tapped in a somewhat rehearsed number. Waiting for a second, she heard the call pick up and a familiar voice answered.

 _"Strange that you're calling now."_

"Never mind that. I think there's going to be a change to our plans."

 _"How so? Were you compromised?"_

"I believe that may have potentially happened. Can't confirm it as of yet though. I was careful and made sure I had covered my steps."

A long silence came over the other end of the line.

 _"This would put us as a disadvantage."_

"I know. What should I do?"

 _"Go along with whatever happens. As long as they totally do not suspect, we may be able to salvage something. Reach back out to me when you have a clearer picture of what is going on. If I do not hear from you within 72 hours, I will assume the worst and take all necessary actions to clean up."_

"I understand. With honor."

 _"With honor."_

The connection went dead. Sliding the phone back into her pocket, Graham gazed out a nearby window, pondering her fate and what would be the next step going forward.


	9. Ch 9 - Point Of No Return

**Chapter Nine - Point Of No Return**

It was another busy afternoon all across Macross Command as the day continued on. It was no different in the section of the base that the RDF's air squadrons called home as squadrons were in constant rotation of patrols and runs in the simulators to stay sharp in case of any emergency. With the heightened tensions being reported in the Argentine Quadrant, it was imperative for the squadrons stationed at Macross to keep on top of things as there was the potential any could be called into active duty at a moment's notice.

Among the squadrons keeping at a heightened state was the most elite of all stationed at the base, the vaunted and legendary Skull Squadron. Inside of their common area, a few of the pilots were relaxing after yet another run in the simulators. One, Major Jack Baker, smiled after thinking about the latest drill that went he and some of his counterparts went through.

"To be honest, it wasn't as hard as everyone made that out to be," he stated with a wry smirk. "I mean, I know the Boss programmed that one back a few years ago, but I really don't see why everyone thought it was that hard."

"Wasn't easy at all, that's for sure," Sergeant David Rivers, known to the others as Stitch, responded. "Nothing like having twenty pods waiting for you right after takeoff. That's just unfair."

"Dunno how that wasn't," Baker mused. "I mean, you just have to keep your weps unlocked on takeoff."

"Which is against every protocol we follow, genius," Stitch retorted. "Even money, you do that on an actual mission and Commodore Hayes would be yelling at you more than usual."

"Still, it wasn't impossible. Just some of have the knack, that's all."

This was met with a rolling of eyes by the assembled group.

Another pilot, Sergeant Karen Penn, only could shake her head. "Easy for you to say, Plankton. You made it past five minutes. The only good thing about that sim run was that I at least didn't want to puke during or after it, unlike some others that were run," punctuating the comment with a grin.

"Ha ha, Karen," Baker shot back. "Funny. You should make like your call sign and let it go already."

"Ease up there, shorty," Penn responded, referencing the reasoning behind his call sign of Plankton.

Mock hurt came over Baker's face with the response. Deciding to change the subject in a different direction, Baker continued on. "Well, I would wonder how much easier that drill the Boss came up with would be with the VF-4's as opposed the regular VF-1's. Would have to think that opening part would be like watching a hot knife go through butter with the firepower the Lightning has."

Stitch nodded. "Plus a bit more armor doesn't hurt either."

"Agreed," Baker stated. "Hopefully there's no more holdups with it rolling out and we can get our hands on those new toys, unless there's another reason as to why that's happen..."

The other pilot in the group, Sergeant Susan Graham, had been glaring at Baker the entire time. Finally, the last comment pushed her towards a response, cutting Baker off in the process.

"Just shut up, Jack. Seriously, I'm tired of getting that pointed out."

Baker looked back in shock. "That wasn't what I was getting at, Sue. If you think for one.."

Once again, Graham cut Baker off before he could finish.

"Oh stop lying, Baker. It's exactly what you mean. Skull's not getting the new plane because there's one screw up that can't pass the basic check out. Am I right?"

"No, you weren't," Baker responded with a bit of an edge to his voice. "I was referencing the constant foul ups the plane's had at the Proving Grounds. Why would I point your issues with the sim as the reason? If anything, they'd move you to another squadron before holding up the deployment. And that's somewhere where I would't go."

Penn and Stitch looked at Baker and then over at Graham. Sue had a definite scowl on her face.

"You're not fooling a damn person, Jack, seeing you just **did** 'go there'," she snarled back. "Also, there's no way Captain Hunter would transfer any of us out."

"Think again, Sue," Baker shot back. "He's done it before, or did you forget about the story about the whole Wolfe saga? He and Wolfie went way back to when he first joined up with the RDF, but he didn't let any personal loyalties get in the way of cashiering his ass for under-performing."

"That's not how I remember it, Jack," she retorted. "Wolfe asked for a transfer well before."

"That's also what he told everyone else, genius. Seeing he's about as believable as Khyron was, I'd be apt to agree more with the Boss's take, seeing most of the other vets in the squadron agree and had much better knowledge of what actually happened."

Graham stood up. "Fine, believe what you want," she shot back. "I've got better things to do than argue with an idiot. Also, just a bit of friendly advice, Jack. May wanna lose the cocky attitude unless you want to give your folks a great Christmas present of a folded up RDF flag and a letter."

With that, she turned and left towards the locker areas, leaving the other three pilots stunned. Almost immediately, Karen stood up and left, following after Graham. Stitch turned towards his now speechless squad mate and shook his head.

"You've got a definite way with people, Jack," he deadpanned.

* * *

Inside of the locker area, Karen found Susan sitting at one of the benches, staring off into space. Walking over, she found herself replaying the end of the conversation between Graham and Jack. _As much as Baker can be tactless, I kind of believe him that he wasn't harping on Sue for her issues with the Lightning check-out,_ she thought. _There's just been way too many issues over at the Proving Grounds with that fighter._

As she approached, Karen gave voice to her concerns.

"Hey, what was that all about?"

"I'm just frustrated, Karen," Graham responded with a bit of an edge. "I really don't like being singled out as being the screw-up on the squadron, especially by some proven loudmouthed idiot that holds the title hands down."

"Hang on a second, Sue," Karen responded. "I don't think Baker was meaning it like you're taking it. The Lightning's had it's issues while at the Skunk Works. We all know that. I don't think the check out was even being referenced."

"So you're taking his side now? Really nice, Karen. Thought you were a friend."

A hard stare from Karen followed after this comment. "Where in the hell do you think I was taking any side on this? If anything, I should be ripping you for that over the top comment about Baker's folks getting a flag and a letter. That was pretty harsh."

"He had that coming. He's way too cocky for his own good and is gonna get himself, or someone else killed."

"It's also somewhere we as pilots shouldn't go," Karen shot back. "Besides, as annoying as he is now, he was much worse before we got on the squad, Sue. I think I remember Stitch telling us about right before we met him that Nibs nearly decked him for being a smartass."

"Too bad she didn't," Sue remarked darkly. "Would have checked his ego good to get taken down by a chick." She turned back towards her wingmate. "Still not taking back what I said."

Karen sighed. "Fine."

Sue shook her head. "I have no idea what this meeting tomorrow with the Captain is about. I'm kind of not looking forward to this."

"Can't really blame you. It must be important, whatever it is. Besides, it may not be as bad as you think."

A sly grin came across Sue's face. "Well, I should be prepared to do whatever it takes to keep my spot here on Skull."

Karen thought about the implications of what was said and the look her friend had on her face as she stated her thought. _Sue, that would be a really bad idea if you're thinking of doing what I think it is. That would get messy real quick and get the Commodore involved on a professional and personal level._

"Sue, as a friend, I'm going to tell you straight out if you're thinking of doing what I think you just hinted at, it would be a really awful idea. It's no secret you have the hots for Captain Hunter, but acting on it is a whole different thing."

A laugh came back from Sue. "Nonsense, Karen. I've seen the way he looks at me. It's mutual. I know I can show my, ahem, appreciation if he lets me stay on."

"I also remember the last person that thought the same way you did. Look that turned out for them."

"I have an advantage of not being drunk all the time though, so I have that going for me. Also, I'm not scared of my own shadow and can handle myself. Besides if he doesn't, well, there's other things that can be done to keep my spot here. It would look really bad for a decorated member of the RDF being accused of.."

Karen shook her head at the implications and cut things off before they went any further. "What the hell are you thinking? This is going to end badly if you go ahead with it. I'm begging you as a friend, Sue. Don't do it. You'd be chucking your career down the toilet."

A resigned sigh came from the dark haired woman. "OK, fine. You have my word as a friend, Karen. I won't go that route." _I hate lying to those I call friends, but in this case, you've proven you're not a friend, Karen. So, I don't really feel too awful about fibbing here,_ she added silently.

Karen smiled after hearing that. "Hey, a bunch of us are meeting up at the SetUp after shift today. Why don't you come on out with us? I promise Baker won't be there if that's a concern."

Sue stood up from the bench and started towards another locker. "Thanks, but I'm actually meeting up with an old friend from the Academy for dinner tonight. They just got transferred to Macross, so I figured I'd show him around town a bit. Talk to you later on."

Karen nodded and started to make her way towards the exit and back towards the common area. Once back out of the locker area and far enough away from Sue, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hi, is Captain Hunter in? He's not? OK, is Commander Sterling available? Thanks. Hi, Commander Sterling? I just tried reaching out to Captain Hunter about something that he may want to know about, but he's in a meeting. Can I swing by your office? It's pretty important. Thanks, sir. Be there in five minutes."

Putting the phone back in her pocket, Karen started to make her way from the common area towards the office wing. _I feel bad tattling on a friend, but there's just this vibe about Sue right now that makes me think I should give the Boss a heads up about that potential course of action she might take,_ she thought as she made her way down the corridor. _She may not forgive me, but she may thank me for this down the road._

* * *

In another part of the Macross Command complex, a high level meeting of the three highest ranking officers on base was going on. A fourth officer, recently promoted, was also a part of the conversation. The meeting had been called by the base's CAG, Captain Rick Hunter and was pertaining to some sensitive information he had received from Doctor Koromatsu at the Proving Grounds.

"So, Captain," Admiral Gloval stated plainly. "You are telling us someone has been hacking into the Proving Grounds and, as you say, 'messing' with the programming for the VF-4 Lightnings?"

Rick nodded. "That would appear to be the case, sir. At least from what Doctor Koromatsu reported."

The officer sitting next to the Admiral, Commodore Lisa Hayes, could only shake her head at this new development. _That would explain a lot of the issues the Lightning has been having,_ she thought. She gave voice to her next concern. "Rick, do we have any idea as to who is behind this?"

Rick shook his head. "Right now, we can't fully pinpoint as to who is doing it, but we have a good idea of where it's happening." He then turned towards another officer sitting nearby. "I have Major Danny Rodgers from the Engineering and InfoTech department here with me. He's been running some research on the timing of the attacks and the routing." Rick turned to Rodgers and nodded. With that, the taller man stood up and moved towards one of the viewscreens in the room.

"Thank you, Captain," he stated with a nod, then turned towards the other two officers in the room. "Admiral, Commodore, per a request from Captain Hunter made about two weeks ago, I ran a scan of the activity on base around the time of the most recent setback the Lightning suffered." On the viewscreen, a listing of web activity came up for the time of the most recent failure seen for the VF-4, which involved the weapons system malfunctioning a few months prior.

He pointed towards a spike in activity on the readout. "It was at about this time that two VF-4 prototypes were being prepared for takeoff, as shown here on the manifests from the Proving Grounds." Another screen came up, showing a quick listing from the test facility. "It was right about here that we saw the first major spike." On the screen showing the activity, two entries were highlighted.

"The entries highlighted had an IP that was directly connected to the Proving Grounds. It was that address where our little hacker got in and did their dirty work."

Lisa was the first to speak. "That IP address, was that from the base?"

Rodgers nodded. "Yes, it appears it was one of ours."

The Admiral shook his head. "Wonderful, it was an inside job."

Lisa frowned. _Sabotage for one of our bigger projects is bad enough, but the fact it was done by someone on base is much worse,_ she thought. Deciding against just thinking her concerns, she gave voice to the larger and more important issue. "Do we have any leads as to who was using that address and was accessing the Proving Grounds like that?"

Rodgers shook his head. "Not as of yet, ma'am. It appears whoever it was that was doing the hacking was smart enough to use a random IP instead of a statically set one. However, we do have one lead." The viewscreen came up with a layout of Macross Command itself. On the map were three red triangles, forming an outline of an area where the hacking attempt was made. "It appears it was in the barracks. Most importantly, in the pilots wing."

Rick nodded. "Wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it and Danny didn't explain it. They're drilling down with the information further to get an exact fix on the floor this happened on. I've also reached out to Intel and have them poking around the wing where that happened." A deep sigh followed. "It also appears that the wing in question is where most of Skull Squadron is situated."

A look of shock came over Admiral Gloval and Lisa. Lisa was the first of the two to speak. "Rick, you don't mean...?"

Rick nodded sadly. "Yeah, it looks like one of mine went rogue. Can't fully prove it as of yet, but all signs are pointing in that direction."

* * *

At the same time, over in the office areas held by Skull Squadron, Karen Penn walked with a purpose down one of the hallways. Finding the office she was looking for, she knocked.

"It's open," came a voice on the other side of the door.

She entered in and saw Commander Max Stirling at his desk. Standing at attention, she saluted briskly, which was returned in kind by the second in command of Skull Squadron.

"Sergeant Penn, you said you had something to discuss?" Max asked.

"Yes, sir. It's pretty important. It's about Sergeant Graham, sir."

Max nodded. "I know you and her are pretty tight, Elsa," he responded with a smile, using her call sign. "I'm sure everything tomorrow will go well. The Boss is looking out for her best interests and the squadron."

"It's about that meeting, sir," Penn added, taking a deep sigh. "I just had a conversation with Sue about that. I have a feeling she may do something really rash."

"Such as?"

Penn then went into detail as to her suspicions and the course of the conversation in the locker room. Max's smile melted away quickly, replaced by a look that was a mix of concern about the details just given and anger at the course of action Graham was about to take.

Silence fell over the room as Penn finished. Max sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. _Jeez, Rick,_ he thought to himself. _You sure do have a knack of getting into trouble without looking for it._ He sighed deeply as he continued his thoughts. _Well, Mir, you were right about those bad vibes in regards to Mystique. That's going into Minmei territory, and we all know how that ended._

Gathering his thoughts, Max's smile came back, masking the serious concerns he had about the information that was just given to him.

 _I hope I'm doing the right thing,_ she thought. _Sue's a good friend, but this was going a little too far. Still, part of me thinks I just plunged a big knife in her back._

Max took note of the look on Penn's face. _She's worried that she just betrayed a friend. Need to reassure she did the right thing on this one._

"Sergeant, you made the right call on this. What you relayed to me could and would become a major issue in the Squadron and all of Command for that matter. I know you and Graham are good friends, but sometimes, stepping in and preventing a friend from making a major mistake is needed."

"Like you and Lieutenant Commander Dixon did with the Boss regarding a certain washed up pop star?"

Max nodded. "Exactly that. Speaking of the Boss, I'm gonna reach out to him right now. He's actually in a meeting with the Commodore as well. And knowing Lisa, she'll **definitely** want to hear this."

Penn nodded as she went over to the couch and sat down.

Max wasted no time picking up the receiver and punching in an extension. "Yes, this is Commander Stirling. I need to reach Captain Hunter and Commodore Hayes. We have a potential situation that needs their immediate attention. Thank you."

* * *

It was shortly after Rick had made the statement about the potential of one of his pilots being the culprit behind the hacking of the Proving Grounds that the intercom in the conference room buzzed. A slightly annoyed Admiral Gloval responded.

"Yes? This had better be important!"

"Sorry for the interruption, Admiral," the voice on the other end came back. "I have Commander Stirling on the line asking for both Captain Hunter and Commodore Hayes. He stated there is a potential situation that may need their attention."

Rick looked at Lisa with a sense of puzzlement. _If Max is calling over, something just went off the rails,_ he thought. Looking over at the Admiral, he got a nod to go ahead and pick up the receiver.

"Max? What's going on?"

Silence followed as Rick was listening to the details being given by his XO. Lisa noticed the color draining from his face while listening to the other end of the line. _That can't be good,_ she thought. She then saw Rick's demeanor change from shock to anger as a scowl came over his face.

"Thank you, Max. We'll be right there," Rick responded a bit more tersely than he intended. He put the receiver back on the cradle and turned two the two ranking officers.

"Admiral, something that just came up that requires my immediate attention. Going to need to borrow the Commodore on this one as it does involve her as well."

Lisa had a shocked look. _Definitely not good,_ she thought. _Also, why am I getting called in about something that may be squadron related?_ It took a second or two for Lisa to find her voice. "Rick, why do I need to be called in on whatever it is that's going on?"

Rick shook his head, "Lisa, you're gonna want to tag along on this one if what I heard was correct."

"Captain, Commodore," Gloval stated. "What exactly is going on?" Lisa looked at Rick and nodded.

Rick took a deep sigh, then turned to all three in the room. "I have a feeling what my XO just called over about may be possibly connected with what we've been discussing here." This earned a nod from the Admiral and a stunned look from Lisa.

Rick then looked over at Danny. "May want to have the Intel boys hit up the 5th floor of the barracks. That's where the majority of mine call home. I may have an exact location shortly."

Rodgers nodded and saluted. Rick then turned towards Lisa, who stood and saluted the Admiral before making her way to the doors next to Rick.

"Rick, keep me posted as to what is going on," Gloval responded.

"I will, Sir," he responded with a quick salute. From there, Rick and Lisa left the room and started their way towards the wing where the Skull Squadron offices were.

As they walked down the hallway, Lisa looked at Rick with a look of concern.

"Rick, what did you mean back in the conference room?"

"It'd be better if Sergeant Penn explains, Lisa," he responded. "She's the one that reached out to Max."

Lisa thought for a second regarding the information given and felt a scowl coming across her face. Rick looked over at the white-uniformed officer walking next to him and was startled by the look on her face. _I think she just put two and two together and got the answer,_ he thought. _That shade of green in her eyes I've only seen once. And that was when Minmei openly challenged her regarding me._

The two walked down the corridors in silence. each deep in thought about what was to happen next.

* * *

The silence in Max Stirling's office was broken by a sharp knock at the door.

"It's open," Max stated loud enough for his visitors to hear.

Rick and Lisa walked through with a sense of purpose. Turning towards the couch, they saw Karen Penn, standing at attention and saluting, albeit with a paler than normal look to her.

Returning the salute, Rick and Lisa settled on a couch across from that of Penn, who had also sat back down. Max, however, had gotten up from his desk and walked in front.

"Rick, Lisa, I wouldn't have called you away from that high level of a meeting if it wasn't something drastically important. However, Sergeant Penn here has some pretty vital information she uncovered earlier."

Both Rick and Lisa nodded. Max looked over at Penn and nodded as well.

Karen cleared her throat and began to speak. "Sir, Ma'am, like Commander Stirling said, if it wasn't drastically important, he wouldn't have called over." She looked directly at Rick and continued on.

"Sir, this has to do with Sergeant Graham. I talked to her this afternoon just at the end of our shift and the topic of tomorrow's meeting was brought up. I only know about it because I was at the mess with her when Nibs came over to tell her about it. Anyway, to make a long story short, it'd probably be a really good idea to not have the meeting with her alone."

"And why is that, Sergeant?" Rick asked. "Basically, she's being told she's got one last chance to pass the check-out. I think I can handle that by myself."

"She's planning to make a pass at you, Boss, at the very least. She's had a crush on you since the day she came on Skulls. Basically, she implied she'd do anything to keep her spot on the roster. And by that I mean, _**anything**_. Also, it gets better. She also implied something about making claims something happened even if it didn't."

Rick and Lisa's eyes both went wide at that implication. Instinctively, Rick grabbed Lisa's hand as if to reassure her of his loyalties.

After a brief silence, Rick was the next to speak.

"Karen, you did the right thing here," he stated. Getting a nod from both Max and Lisa, he turned back towards Penn. "You're dismissed, Karen. I think the three of us here have a lot to discuss."

"Understood. Sirs. Ma'am," Penn responded as she saluted before exiting the room. Once the door was closed, Rick was the first to stand up.

"Max, I don't have to tell you that anything from this point on is of the highest security level. You know the protocol and drill."

Max nodded. "Is it about some of the things we discussed yesterday?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah. That briefing Lisa and I were at was about exactly that. Danny Rodgers from Engineering's been able to drill it down a bit with the instances and it looks like more and more it was an inside job. And after that little bit of news, I think one Susan Graham just went to the top of the list of possible suspects with this."

"Seems like it could be a stretch, Rick," Max opined. "I mean, yeah, she's a young kid that made a bad choice in her romantic interests.." Quickly realizing what was said, he turned to Lisa. "Sorry bout that, Lisa, but I think you know.."

Lisa nodded. "Totally understood what you meant there, Max. Don't worry, I won't say a word to Mir about it," she said with a wink.

A sigh of relief escaped the blue-haired pilot as he continued. "Anyways, I wouldn't think that would lead to digital piracy or outright sabotage."

"It's not that much of a leap, Max," Rick said. "I mean, think about it. She's the lone pilot in the squad that hasn't passed yet. And it seems like when the Lighting is about to get rolled out, suddenly, a bug hits."

"Very coincidental, Rick," Lisa stated. "But as you stated, not out of the full realm of possibility." She took a deep breath before going on. "As for tomorrow's briefing with her, I would take Penn's advice and not do it alone, Rick. Not after the statement about implying something happening regardless of it actually happening or not."

Rick nodded. "I agree as well. First off, you know where my loyalties lie, Lisa. That's not changing anytime soon," he added with a smile. "Now, the best way to handle it would be to have every officer in Skull there, but that may also intimidate her to the point where she knows something's up."

Both Max and Lisa nodded. Rick stopped for a second and smiled. "Actually, I have an idea."

"And what, may I ask, is this idea, Flyboy?" Lisa asked, dreading the response.

"I go ahead with the briefing with Graham alone."

Max could only shake his head at this. Lisa, however, felt a wave of anger rising and gave in to it.

"Christ, Rick! Are you insane?" Lisa shouted back. "That would be the dumbest idea ever. You damn well know I could **order** you to have someone else present!"

"Now hear me out, Lisa," Rick responded. "She's expecting it to be a one on one meeting, not a Spanish Inquisition run by the Skulls. Like I said, that happens, her guard is up. Now, if it's alone, she may think she has the advantage, and her guard is down. However, I thought of something."

"Go on," Lisa added with a strong hint of sarcasm.

"We have the briefing room hooked up with cameras. I think Rodgers could help out on that one and we have one or two people in a room nearby watching on video. That way, if she wants to make any insane claims I molested her or something outrageous like that, we have proof that it didn't happen."

Max nodded in agreement. "Actually, Lisa, that's not a bad idea."

Lisa fumed for a second, thinking over the implications. "I really don't like the idea of my boyfriend being put out as bait for some traitorous bitch, but I guess I have to agree on this one. On one condition. I'm the one sitting in the room with Rodgers."

Rick smiled. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Forever Girl."

A quizzical look came up from Lisa after Rick's statement.

"First off, I have zero interest in Graham in that way. I mean, how can I top perfection? I'd be an idiot to even broach that idea."

That earned a deserved smile from Lisa. Rick smiled back and continued.

"Secondly, I'm also not in favor of being a honey pot for some delusional chick thinking with her other head. But if it can put her at ease enough to make her drop her guard, well, guess I'll have to take one for the team. Also, any claims she wants to make would backfire because we'd have evidence that it never happened. And the last part, well, you were my first choice to be the observer, Lisa."

"You do realize it will be really tough for me to not go in there and wring her neck if she tries something, right?"

Rick nodded. "I do. And trust me, I'm not starting a thing." He moved over next to Lisa and put his arm around her. "You have to trust me on this one."

"I can't believe I'm signing off on this, but, yes, Rick, it's a go. May want to reach to Danny to get things all set up first thing."

Rick nodded. _Tomorrow just became a lot more interesting than I had intended,_ he thought.

* * *

The Downtown section of New Macross was a buzz of activity as the day descended towards night. In one of the trendier districts, a raven-haired woman made her way down the sidewalk towards one of the many restaurants that called the district home. Looking up, she took note of the name listed outside and glanced back at her phone. _El Madrigal_ , she thought. _This is definitely the place._ She then glanced at the time on the phone. _I'm right on time as well, but knowing my friend, he's probably already in there having a few "refreshments",_ she mused silently. Walking in, she looked at the bar area and saw her friend at a table off to the side, with a glass in front of him. The man in question was a bit taller with long black hair and a wistful look on his face.

 _Not surprised,_ she thought. _Hopefully he hasn't had too many yet. Need him to be on point here._

She made her way over to the table and sat down with a smile.

"Couldn't wait up for me?"

The man shrugged. "I only got here maybe twenty minutes ago," he stated as he looked at the nearly empty glass. "Been nursing this one since I got here. What kept you anyways?"

"Traffic. All the construction on the M-8 has been a nightmare for getting around. I'm lucky I timed it right otherwise I'd still be stuck on it."

The man nodded. "Well, we're not here to discuss the construction patterns of the Macross Quadrant DOT, my dear. I believe you told one of my friends we may have a potential issue, am I correct?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. Things may be heating up back on the job. I have a sitdown with my, ahem, immediate supervisor, tomorrow."

A scowl came over the man's face. "Are you sure you weren't compromised?"

The woman shook her head. "Not that I know of. I was careful every time."

The man nodded. "I'm sure you were. That's why Raven was sure you were in that prime position. He knows your work and how thorough you are."

"That is a bit of a relief," the woman stated. "He also said I should have reached out to you earlier regarding this. Especially knowing your distaste for one of the subjects involved."

The man snorted. "Don't remind me. I never liked that jackass from the start. What you see in him..."

The woman laughed. "Means to an end, my dear. Means to an end. He may be easy on the eyes from my standpoint, but he's also a major obstacle that needs to be removed in the grand scheme."

"True," the man stated. "And believe me, I'll enjoy watching this happen." He finished his drink and smiled.

"Anyways," the woman replied. "The best course of action?"

"Go along with this meeting and if you want to try your idea, then by all means do so. I can't guarantee it will work though. His loyalties are well known and he won't shake them."

The woman nodded. "I've seen that. However, a little kernel of doubt on the other's behalf, though. That could help."

"Good luck with that," the man chuckled. "I watched someone close to me try before and it failed rather spectacularly. You might have heard about it. And this was before the loyalties I stated were as they are now. If anything, it's stronger. I doubt you'd have much of a chance." He motioned to the waitress for another drink.

The woman scowled at this response. "You don't think I'd have a chance with the great Ri.."

"Careful, we don't need to mention names. Not yet at least," the man cautioned as his new drink arrived. "Besides, knowing your current employers, they could have a someone hiding in this seedy bar."

The woman nodded. "Sorry, I'll be more cautious."

 _Some caution,_ the man thought as he took a sip from a new drink. _Name dropping is never a good idea. Wonder what else you bragged about or to who. As much as Raven says you're good, you're way too sloppy sometimes. Especially when you're thinking with your ovaries instead of your brains._

Composing himself, the man continued on. "If the meeting doesn't go to plan, I have a source you can reach out to. I think you know him pretty well." The man slid a piece of paper over to the woman across from him. She opened up the note and smiled.

"Indeed. It's been a while since I've seen him. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to see me again."

"Big things are coming, Sparrow," the man stated. "As bad as this may have possibly looked, it may work out better in the long run. We need an asset like you with your considerable talents."

"That they are, Dragon, that they are. I'll let Raven know of the changes." She raised her glass. "To things reborn."

The man reciprocated. "To things reborn."

After another drink, the woman rose up, left a twenty dollar bill on the table and made her way out of the bar. The man decided on having one more drink before leaving. Checking his phone, he saw a message and read over it. _Well, this day got even better,_ he thought. _Looks like Raven convinced the right folks about my little idea._ Scrolling over to his contacts, the man found the one he was looking for and clicked on the call button. _Was pretty surprised he was out and about, especially after that incident last year. Anyways, I'm sure he'll be glad to hear from me again._

"Hi, pal. Long time, no talk. Look, I have a business proposition for you. Meet me in a few days at the overlook at MacArthur Park. I think it'll be mutually beneficial to everyone."

He tapped the phone again to stop the call and took another sip of the drink. _Aren't the RDF in for one helluva surprise,_ he thought with a smile. _Two of their most implacable enemies coming together. And getting to watch Rick Hunter taken down about twenty pegs in the process is even more worth it._ An even more sinister smile came across the man's face as he finished the last of the drink. _You embarrassed me and my family, Hunter. We don't take that lying down. Be happy you got that lone punch off, because the next time we cross paths, you won't even get that chance._

* * *

Deep in the Frag, Xamdar smiled as he swiped at his phone while standing out on the front deck of his current residence. Joining him was his counterpart Pyoto, who had just come out a few seconds before.

"What was that call about, Xamdar?"

"Just an old friend, Pyoto," Xamdar said with a smile. "It appears my contacts among the Micronians are paying off."

"Should I let Quazmin know?"

"No, not yet," he answered with a shake of his head. "But, I should have more information in the coming days."

* * *

The woman had by this time gotten back to her car. She also had her phone out and was making a call. The voice on the other line answered quickly.

 _"I see you just met with Dragon. Did you get my message?"_

"Yes. He delivered it. I think I can go ahead with that. I'm sure Stefan will be more than happy to see me again."

 _"Indeed he will. You need to keep your cover for just a bit longer though. We can't have them snooping around as much as they are. If what you told me earlier was true, it may be a bad situation."_

"I have a contingency plan in place. I may have to use some of my other talents on this one."

 _"I'm sure Dragon told you that was a bad idea in light of who it is you're dealing with. He does have some experience with seeing someone attempt that same tactic."_

"So I've been told. I'm confident though that I can sway him and cause enough chaos on that end that neither of them will be an issue going forward."

 _"I still don't think that's a good idea. It may bring more suspicion upon you than you realize."_

"Well, seeing I have an all-or-nothing meeting tomorrow, I think I really don't have much to lose at this point. Also, I have something in mind to raise flags in a different direction. I already have my diversion all set to go."

 _"Fine, go ahead. It's not like you'd ever listen to me anyway. Besides, we're going to need you at that new location a lot more, mostly due to your insight. So, please use your best judgement. I'd really hate to have one of my associates take care of you at New Leavenworth."_

"Trust me, it won't come to that."

 _"It better not, little sparrow. I have been known to keep my word. Let me know how things go tomorrow."_

With that, the phone went dead. _Well, tomorrow should be interesting,_ the woman thought as she pulled out of the garage and towards the southern side of New Macross. As she pulled up to a gatehouse outside of Macross Command, she smiled as she extended an ID.

"Evening, Sergeant," the guard stated with a salute.

She returned the salute. "Thank you, Corporal. Have a good night."

As she pulled into a parking spot, Susan Graham did not find herself conflicted at the least as to the events of the past few hours. _Everything is just about set,_ she thought as she made her way up to her room in the barracks. Noticing another door was slightly ajar, she smiled darkly as she remembered who the resident was. Peeking in quickly, she saw nobody in the room and a laptop sitting on the desk. Moving quickly, Susan opened up the door to her room, pulled out a USB drive from her laptop, went back to the other room, and quickly inserted it into the other laptop in the unlocked room. Clicking on the laptop, she moved files from the USB on to the laptop. After finishing up, she pulled the drive out of the laptop and put it back in her pocket. Leaving the door slightly ajar as prior, she quietly walked back towards her room. Along the way, she saw the room's resident walking back from the laundry area.

"Evening, Sue," the resident said with a smile.

"Hi, Jack," she responded.

"Look, about earlier, I wasn't trying to get on ya about.."

"It's OK, Jack. If anything, I was out of line with my crack about the folded flag."

"Don't worry about it. I'm writing it off to stressing about the whole Lightning check-out thing. You got this, Sue," adding a reassuring smile.

"Thanks," she responded with a smile that was somewhat forced. _First chance I get to vape you, I'm not turning it down,_ she added darkly.

"No problem. Have a good night!"

"You too."

 _Killing two birds with one stone,_ she thought as she made her way in to her room. _Deflects suspicion away from me and gives that little bastard his come-uppance_ _,_ she thought as she fell back on the bed. _Shouldn't have pissed me off, Baker. And as for the worries about why I shouldn't be going after one Rick Hunter, I have my talents that will make Rick see my point of view. Or at least make it look as such. And if he doesn't play ball, well, it wouldn't be the first time a female pilot has complained about certain forms of harassment in the RDF. That would be more than enough to get Hayes pissed at him, and from there, all sorts of chaos can happen._

It was with this thought that Susan drifted off to sleep with a smile.

* * *

 ** _Author's_ _Note_** _\- Well, the plot thickens and I think you can make a slight guess as who just came back into the picture, albeit in a much more darker and sinister role than before. Also, as a bit of a hint, there's a few more from DBTD that will be coming back as well...and some in much different and totally unexpected roles than first shown._

 _To the reviews...one did roll in here:_

 ** _Just A Crazy Man_** _\- Very interesting points. I was just basing it off of what I remember from watching the original way back when (and also firing up my copy of the Macross Saga just to double check). As I remembered it, I don't think I heard of any other higher ups in the RDF ground side going beyond Colonel during that arc (Maistroff comes to mind there. Leonard and Emerson are more of the Masters arc, but they were prominent in the Macross Arc as well from other works I've read). The only real high ranking officers I can think of were Gloval and Donald Hayes (both Admirals). Gloval could do that, but what's to say the Council or Senate doesn't block the move (as they did earlier with Lisa's promotion from the end of DBTD)? Ah well, it is a flight of fancy here on this. Also, Leonard's already thought a lot of things out, as will be shown later on. Plus having Russo on his side (for now) doesn't hurt either._

 ** _In the next installment:_** _A great many things come to a head in Macross, in Paraguay, and also in Buenos Aires. Stay tuned for Chapter 10, **Dancing Upon A Volcano,** the next thrilling episode of **Robotech: Shrouds Of Darkness.**_


	10. Ch 10 - Dancing Upon A Volcano

**Chapter Ten - Dancing Upon A Volcano**

A new day began as the sun began to rise above the vast forest surrounding the Santa Isabel Monastery in the Paraguayan Quadrant. The relative peace of the sanctuary for those wishing to escape the world was a relief to two visitors, especially seeing the circumstances as to why they ended up in this location. Looking out over the farmlands towards the forest, Lieutenant Ortega smiled as he took a sip of coffee. _You wouldn't even know the rest of the continent is losing it's damned mind looking out here,_ he thought as he took a sip of the piping hot beverage. As he looked out, he could see a few of the monks tending to the herds of sheep and cattle that not only fed the brothers that called the monastery home, but also helped with financing the day to day activities of the complex. He took a quick glance at his watch. _The Abbot wants to meet with us shortly after morning Vespers,_ he thought. _That should be coming up shortly if my watch is right._ A sharp clang of a bell from the chapel tower off to his right confirmed this.

A creaking of a door behind him alerted Ortega that he now had company. Turning around, he nodded towards the other figure that had arrived.

"Morning, _amigo_ ," he stated plainly with a smile. "Might want to try the coffee. It's pretty good."

"For the last time, Lieutenant, I'm not your _amigo_ , no matter how much you say it," the other man groused. "And yes, the coffee is good."

"No need to be so grouchy all the time, Cryndor," Ortega said back. "Was just trying to make conversation, that's all."

"Sorry, Lieutenant. It's just that my mind's back on what's going on in Buenos Aires. You can kind of understand the whole concept of having my fellow Zentraedi be possibly wiped out by a madman that you, up until a few days ago, worked for, has made me, as you said, 'grouchy' this morning."

Ortega nodded as he took another sip from the mug. _Point taken. If the roles were reversed, I'd be just as grouchy too._

Cryndor looked out over the fields. "So, any news from back in Buenos Aires?"

Ortega shook his head. " _Nada_. The brothers here have shunned most modern technology, so getting any information feeds is next to impossible." The Lieutenant showed his cellphone. "See? No service out in these parts."

"That is far from a comforting thought," the Zentraedi said with a hint of resignation. "Did that Brother...Maynard, was it?" A quick nod followed from Ortega. "Did he give you any reason as to why the head priest wasn't able to meet with us yesterday?"

Ortega shook his head. "No, he didn't. You know as much as I do."

"The old 'something came up' excuse," Cryndor huffed. "Back on ship, usually if that came up, it meant we were getting a new commanding officer or ship captain after a loss against you Micronians. Khyron did not suffer fools long."

"I doubt the good brothers of this house of God subscribe to the same tactics as your old commander," Ortega responded with a smirk. "I'm sure we'll get a good explanation when we meet later on."

The two turned their gaze towards the south. One wondering of what the next direction events would take him, the other wondering of the fate of his fellows back in a place that until recently had been home.

* * *

In the brief time since the explosion that rocked the Government Center of Buenos Aires, rescue and recovery crews were being replaced by construction workers at the shattered remains of the __La Casa del Sol Naciente__ in an effort to bring some sort of normalcy back to the area and to the city.

Nearby, the workings of the government of the Argentine Quadrant had moved to a few of the adjacent office building that either survived the blast intact or had minimal cosmetic damage. In one of the buildings was a wing that was closed off to only a few well-vetted members of Colonel Anatole Leonard's immediate staff. But, there was one office that was off limits to everyone but the Colonel himself. In this location, a shadowy figure sat behind a desk with a bank of monitors tuned into different news reports and other streams of information. The figure, however, was paying more attention to a particular bit of information that was on a laptop directly in front of him on the desk.

Looking over the screen, a sly grin came across the man's face. _Well, I never knew you had this in you, but color me impressed,_ he thought as he scanned the screen with thoughtful intent. _Glad to see Sparrow was able to get a bit more up there than just messing with that new toy of theirs. A tidbit like that would make for quite a few happy people, that's for sure._ He took a sip of water as he glanced over some more information. _And some others too, if what Dragon told me was correct. How I was able to convince Ol' Anatole to go along with that is a mystery, but I guess anything that can keep our friends in Macross tied up can only help in the overall grand picture._

The man glance at his watch. _Should be about the right time to call over to Lupe,_ he thought. Picking up the phone, he dialed a number from memory and awaited the response.

"Lupe, It's Raven. I believe I may have some good news about an upcoming job soon."

 _"Glad to hear it,"_ came the voice on the other side. _"It's been beyond boring as hell here and the guys are itching for a payday. The current pay we're getting isn't bad, but the guys are tired of the same cheap broads and weak beer, if you catch my drift."_

"Worry not, my friend," Raven responded. "This job would pay extremely well if my sources are correct."

 _"How much are we looking at?"_

 _Always the mercenary, Lupe,_ Raven thought with a bit of a smirk. _You do have your uses, but you certainly are expensive sometimes. Would be rather unfortunate if something were to happen and I could just pocket the cash,_ he added darkly. Pulling out of his thoughts, Raven continued on with the conversation.

"Not sure as of yet, but it should be plenty for you and your men."

 _"Retirement level?"_

"From what my source told me, more than enough to buy your own private island somewhere. At least one that didn't get totally vaped by that Xerox bastard Dolza."

 _"Sounds like my kind of job then,"_ Lupe responded, punctuating it with a broad laugh.

"I should have some more details soon, Lupe. Also, I'll be sending a courier with the information when the time is right. You also may remember the courier well. They have some talents that you will certainly find useful."

A laugh came over the other side of the line. _"If they can fly and shoot in a straight line and hold their alcohol, there's always room in the 'Pack for newbies. Any help is good help, I figure."_

 _Knowing your bunch, Lupe, the shooting and flying in a straight line is optional most of the time,_ Raven mused silently. _How you and your merry band of idiots managed to survive for this long is some sort of miracle. No matter. Just as long as you don't screw this up, you'll serve a great purpose in the overall scheme of things._

Springing back into the conversation, Raven smirked as he read an email that had just arrived.

"I will tell you though, your courier may be coming a lot sooner than expected. Also, you may get a bit of heat for the job as well, just as a heads up."

 _"As long as the money is good, I'm your guy. Wouldn't be the first time I've gotten into trouble. Won't be the last either."_

"Contact me once the courier arrives and I should be able to go into a bit more detail on the job particulars."

 _"Will do, buddy. Hey, next time you're in town, I have to take you to a great place I found. Beer's pretty good and the chicks at this place..."_

Raven felt a wave of distaste come up. "We'll see when I'll be in your neck of the woods again, Lupe. And if so, then maybe a drink or two may be in order." _And I'll make damn sure yours is laced with something like antifreeze or prussic acid, you pig,_ he added silently. With that, he cradled the phone and took a deep breath.

 _As revolting of a human being Lupe is, he still is the best we have in that area,_ Raven thought. _Although, I should probably go ahead and hedge my bets in case this moron screws up._ He gazed over a list in front of him and smiled as he read over one particular entry. _Hmm, I probably should have reached out to him sooner,_ he thought as he re-scanned the entry. _He might have to travel a bit, but I know he's reliable. Would be a much better choice than Lupe's bunch._

It was then Raven had the dawning of an idea. The smile on his face grew.

 _Well, it's an abrupt change in plan, but I can take care of a few things in one shot,_ he thought. _Forward our plan, get some more reliable folks under our wing, and remove one potential source of embarrassment._ He picked up his cellphone and tapped in a brief message to a familiar contact.

 _"Sparrow, slight change in plans. I'll fill you in later."_

Satisfied with the message, he tapped on the Send button and smiled. Checking back, he picked up the receiver for the desk phone and dialed another number.

 _"Bonjour mon ami_ , I think I may something that may be of slight interest to you."

* * *

At Macross Command, the sun began it's slow rise up from the East, bathing the base and the surrounding city in a warm glow. On base and in New Macross itself, activity began to increase as a new day was in it's early throes. However, in some parts of the base, activity had been going on for some time. One spot where this was true was inside of one of the many conference rooms that dotted the main portion of Macross Command. There, since before the sun had even come up, a few uniformed RDF personnel were busy at work making some key adjustments to the room.

In one corner, a blue haired man and a stocky brown haired man were at work adjusting one of the many monitors.

"You got a firm grip on that, Ben?," the blue haired man asked his counterpart.

"Yeah, got it, Max," came the response. Looking upwards, he noticed a woman with brunette hair on a ladder in front of them. She was working on attaching something to the monitor. "How much longer?"

"Almost got this," she responded. "Just need another minute or two." She looked down at Max and smirked. "Tell me again as to why we're doing this?"

"So the Boss doesn't have anything out of the ordinary happen when he has this room at 1300, Amelia," he responded. "Or at least recorded evidence if someone decides to go a certain route." _The last person that tried a stunt like this didn't have much success,_ Max reflected silently.

Amelia nodded. _Can't say I'm too shocked about the reasoning why,_ she thought as she adjusted the object she had attached to the monitor. _Never really trusted her very much to begin with._ When Rick Hunter had explained to Amelia, Ben, and Max as to the reasoning behind this sudden remodel to the conference room, it wasn't much of a stretch for all three to volunteer to help out. _Of all the dumb things someone could be thinking of doing, that's right at the top of the list,_ she thought as she attached another object to the monitor and linked the two with a small cord. _There, all set,_ she thought with a smile. Looking down at Ben, the smile grew. _If this goes about as well as I think it will, this may be the one time the Popcorn Joke would apply properly. You may get to say that without a smack today._

"Nibs, darlin'? Mind hurrying it up a bit? I can't hold this thing forever," Ben responded. "Besides, I don't feel like seeing most of my next few paychecks being put to buying a state-of-the-art monitor. I just got the cable back at my house and I don't feel like having them shut it off again."

"Ahem," Amelia answered with a snort. "The cable's in **my** name now, remember? I think I remember what they said at the cable company when you went to pay off that bill. Something about letting Khyron open an account before you? Yeah, that was it," she added with a smirk.

"Don't remind me," Ben muttered.

"Well, it's all set. Time to let the big strong men do some work here," she said with a smile as she climbed down the ladder. Within a few minutes, Max and Ben had gotten the monitor back in its original position. Looking up at their work, the three smiled.

"Was that the last one?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, everything's all set," Amelia added.

"Thank God," Ben said with an exaggerated exhale. "That was harder than it looked." Looking over at Amelia. "At least you had the easy part hooking everything up."

She raised an eyebrow at this comment. "Like it was easy to get those cameras in place and make them look like they were part of the decor," she shot back.

"Those monitors aren't exactly lightweight either, right Max? 'Thin plasma monitors', my ass."

Max started to chuckle a bit. "More like just awkward to hold up if anything. But, we got everything in place. Might as well let the others know." He fished into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. Tapping quickly, he found the contact he was looking for, tapped the screen again and brought the device to his ear.

* * *

In the same wing as the conference room, three other figures sat around a bank of monitors in the center area of the office. On each of the monitors was an image of the RDF emblem. One of the figures, a black haired man in an RDF officer's uniform, felt something in his pocket. Reaching in, he pulled out a cellphone and saw the contact information. Tapping on the screen, a semi-serious look came over his face.

"Go ahead, Max," he stated.

 _"Rick, we're all set over here. Wanna go tell Mr DeMille we're ready for our close-up?"_

The serious look that Rick Hunter had been showing melted quickly with the well timed quip from his friend. He turned towards another figure, a taller man with short brown hair and glasses.

"Danny? It's showtime."

A quick nod came from the man as he opened a laptop and started typing. One by one, the monitors changed from showing the RDF emblem to showing the conference room and the three others in it at different angles. Once all the monitors came alive, the man smiled.

"Looking good. All the cameras are in working order," Danny stated. He heard a sneeze on the speakers, noticing that Ben had indeed done so in the room. "Mics are up and running." Turning towards the third person in the room, he continued. "Everything's in place."

The third person, a brown haired woman in a white uniform nodded. "Good to know, Major," she stated with a small hint of a smile on her face. She walked over towards Rick and with a smile took the phone. "Max, Ben, Amelia, good work and thanks for helping on this one."

"Not a problem, Lisa," came the response from Max. "Somebody's gonna be in for a real surprise."

Commodore Lisa Hayes nodded, feeling a wave of anger starting to brew at the slight mention of the reason behind the cameras. Thinking better of any comments, she handed the phone back to Rick. Looking over at Lisa, Rick felt his free hand balling into a fist. _I know you don't like this plan, Forever Girl,_ he thought. _But just trust me on this one. I swore I'd never break your heart again and that's a promise I intend on keeping._

Returning to the phone, Rick pushed whatever potential dark thoughts of the event scheduled for later out of his head. "OK, you three, you're dismissed. Follow your normal routine and try not to tip anyone off."

"Roger that," Ben drawled. "Nibs and I will be at our usual hangout."

"It's getting to the point we should just forward your mail to the sims," Rick responded with a laugh. "I can't guarantee I'd be able to intercept any cable bills though."

On one of the monitors, he could see Ben shaking his head and muttering something low enough that the microphones were unable to pick it up. Rick also noticed that Ben and Amelia were both nearly doubled over laughing.

"Max," Rick continued. "I have to thank you for the other good idea."

"Didn't think it'd a really good idea to have Miriya around if things went south. You know how she feels about...our friend," he added with a shake of his head.

"Seeing they were going to be down a pilot, she became an honorary member of Baker's Half Dozen for today," Rick said with a smirk. After letting the others know what was going on, Max had raised this point of concern about his wife. Also, Rick and Max realized that the usual Zentraedi way to deal with a problem was to make it disappear, often in a very thorough and destructive manner. Having Miriya go on patrol was probably the safest decision made.

"Well, seeing she outranks all the usuals, it'd be more like Miriya's Minions for today," Max corrected.

"True. See you back at the offices, Rick." With that, the phone went dead. On one of the monitors, the three in the conference room made towards the exit and left the room empty. Danny stood up after the others had left and turned towards Rick and Lisa.

"Mind if I grab some breakfast at the mess and some snacks from the PX? I figure I'm gonna be here for a while today."

A nod from Rick followed. Danny then turned towards Lisa.

"Ma'am, want anything from the PX?"

"Not right now, Danny. Thanks for asking, though," she responded.

Both Rick and Lisa watched Danny leave the room.

As the door to the office shut, Rick turned back towards Lisa, who still had the same mixed look of concern and anger. She was the first to speak after the phone was put away.

"You know, I still don't really like this plan. And you know I can still order someone to be in that room with you too," she said.

"So noted," came the response. "And you know I'm not thrilled of the prospect of getting molested by a possible traitor. Also, if it wasn't just me, she'd be on her guard and wouldn't be relaxed enough to possibly incriminate herself."

Rick walked over to Lisa and took her hands in his.

"Besides, those camera's are our insurance policy. I can pretty much reject her like I would anyways and she can't play that one card Penn had mentioned." The subject was one that gave both a cause for concern.

Lisa nodded. "Rick, it's going to take an awful lot for me to **not** go into that room the moment she puts a move on you. It'd be like reliving Minmei's attempts all over again."

Rick shuddered at the memory of the now-reclusive pop star's last ditch efforts to rekindle a relationship during Khyron's attacks nearly a year prior. Smiling as he looked into Lisa's eyes, he pulled her closer.

"Lisa, I love you and you only. You have nothing to worry about. I know where my loyalties lie."

A wave of warmth came over Lisa, pushing down the growing anger. "I love you too, Rick. I do know you've been true to your word and always will be," she said with a weak smile. "But I'll also be damned if I'm going to let some tramp try to have her way with you. Not on my watch, mister."

"I know, Lisa. And if the roles were reversed, I'd probably be a lot like you are. Maybe even more so."

Lisa moved closer as Rick followed suit. A soft kiss between them grew, as if it were reassurance of their feelings for one another.

The tender moment was broken by the soft buzz of a phone. Pulling away and grumbling, Lisa looked down at the offending piece of technology and saw it was a reminder alarm she had set.

"Have a meeting with Lieutenant Werner and Commander Mueller about our situation in Europe in 15 minutes," she stated with a sigh.

Rick nodded. "How are things there? Last I heard, the Em Zees got a bit frisky none to long ago and gave the folks in Munich a scare."

"Not sure if it's calmed down totally, but it sounds like from their last report things are a bit better."

"Gotcha," Rick drawled. Glancing at his watch, he frowned. "Guess I should head back and help Max with all that paperwork. Nothing makes a day drag like going over performance reviews." He turned back towards Lisa. "Although, given my alternative today, I'd take the reviews."

As they made their way to the door, Rick and Lisa took the time for one last kiss before they parted ways for the time being.

* * *

Across the bustle of a normal day in New Macross, the current state of affairs in the Frag was much like that everywhere across the Earth. One eye was kept on normal appearances with another kept on the growing situation in the San Rafael district of Buenos Aires. In one of the houses in this volatile neighborhood, it appeared to be quiet, but inside was a much different matter.

The three usual residents of the house were joined by a visitor this day. The attention was drawn to the large TV in the corner of the room. The images coming across the screen detailed the latest events in Argentina.

After a considerable amount of time absorbing the latest news, one of the Zentraedi in the residence, a purple skinned man with whitish hair, was the one to break the silence.

"Strange that the Micronians have yet to move, is it not?"

Another off to the side nodded. "Yes, Quazmin, it most certainly is. I would have figured they would have tried to attack by now. The numbers certainly favor them at this point."

"If I were in their place, Pyoto," one of Zentraedi on the couch stated. "I would have already made the call to attack and that area would be nothing but a flaming ruin."

"Of course you would, Xamdar," Pyoto responded quickly. "Tactically, it's sound and it's the logical move. However, the Micronians have shown time and time again that logic does not apply to them."

"Ah, yes, 'public opinion'," Xamdar snorted. Turning to the fourth observer, an orange haired warrior by the name of Rentik, Xamdar nodded. "So, seeing everyone here has an opinion. If you were leading the Micronians, how would you handle this?"

Rentik nodded as he thought over his answer, finally giving voice to his observations. "I would wait for one of the residents of that settlement to take the first strike. As you said, this idea of 'public opinion' plays a lot into their decision making, especially with the information blasts all over. A wrong move could touch off a much bigger situation." He looked around the room and then at the window facing the street. "A mistake there means more than just a possible battle in that quadrant, but possibly all over the entire planet. This Leonard would have to be either insane or just plain careless to take the first shot."

Quazmin nodded. "Impressive assessment, friend," he said with a smile. "That is why I've been in constant contact with one of the commanders in that settlement. I've been advising to tell his warriors to not make the first move. Let them start the fight."

"But this goes against everything we've been taught," Xamdar said flatly.

"Look, just because you are, as the Micronians say, itching for a fight, doesn't mean it's a good idea to be the one that starts it," Pyoto shot back. "Quazmin and Rentik are right on this."

Turning towards Quazmin, Pyoto continued. "I think it may be time to call our warriors here in Macross together as well. So we have a common plan and make sure nobody deviates from it," adding a look at Xamdar in the process. _You're too consumed by revenge against those that ended your last clone, old friend. Revenge doesn't usually come swiftly._

"On this point, I do agree," Quazmin responded. "Gathering the warriors would be most beneficial right now. We don't need one or more deciding to lash out at the Micronians and have the Frag become like what we're seeing on this information blast right now. The time for action will present itself in due course, but that time has yet to arrive."

Xamdar stood up. "If we wait too long, the Micronians may just annihilate us all while we wait for that right time to act."

This earned stern looks from both Pyoto and Quazmin. However, it was Rentik that decided to speak up.

"We've had our share of suicidal attacks and look where that's gotten us. It makes for great reading in the Archives, but it doesn't win battles. Breetai was the only commander that realized this. That is why he still lives."

"As an enemy and a traitor," Xamdar muttered.

"He also wasn't reduced to atoms like some of our other vaunted leaders during the war with the Micronians, either," Rentik continued. "You notice that a majority of us on this planet served under his banner. I may not agree with his choices during and after the war, but I will respect the fact he was able to get the most out of those that did serve under him."

"As much as Breetai is disliked," Quazmin opined. "Our friend here has a point. Throwing caution to the wind would be most foolish, especially with what we are seeing right now in front of us on this monitor."

Pyoto nodded. "This battle that may be looming may be the most important in our history. If we were to lose, we may fade from the universe."

"Better to lose fighting as opposed to this meek hiding and not wanting to offend the Micronians tactic," Xamdar spat back. "If I were in charge, I'd have Izadu go after.."

Quazmin cut him off quickly. "But you're not. And we all know what happened the last time you led a major operation. You got the entirety of the Army of Righteousness destroyed and you got your insides splattered all over one of those fancy mess halls that the Micronians are fond of." This earned a glare of pure hatred from Xamdar. Quazmin ignored this as he continued on. "That is exactly why I was put in charge of operations here and you were not. I, like you, like Pyoto, and like our friend here, crave revenge against the Micronians. However, what you've been pushing for is tantamount to suicide."

Pyoto spoke again. "It's not like before Dolza's attack when we had ample resources. The Micronians outnumber us and they outgun us."

"That is also why I studied the Micronian archives and also alerted Khyron to their unusual, but effective, tactics."

"Indeed, Xamdar. And they can still be effective if needed," Quazmin stated. "However, they are not needed right now. Not yet, at least."

Xamdar was about to press his case further when he felt something buzzing in his pocket. Getting his phone out, he looked at the screen and smiled. "You will forgive me, but I need to take this call. It's something that may be helpful soon to even the odds, so to speak." With that, he walked out of the room, deep in conversation with the subject of the phone call.

Rentik also stood up at this point as well. "I must take leave as well. My Micronian employers may not be so understanding if they were to find out I was late to my job because I was actively working towards their downfall."

Quazmin nodded towards the warrior as he made his way towards the front door. Pyoto had also risen and followed Rentik out as well, stopping the other on the front porch area.

"I will contact you when the meeting is to take place," he stated. "Also, you had said you knew of some other warriors that may want to join our cause?"

Rentik nodded. "Yes. Two of my old shipmates that happen to work at the same place I do. Both are tiring of the Micronian ways. As I am as well."

"Perfect. Bring them along when the time comes. And I can sense that the time is drawing nearer. Be well, Rentik."

"You as well, Pyoto."

* * *

A short time later, Rentik arrived at a house that was about a good twenty minutes away. Looking around to the sides and behind him, he smiled as he entered the front door.

Inside the house were three men sitting around a number of monitors. The first, a heavier set man with reddish brown hair, asked the first question.

"Were you followed, Rentik?"

"No, Bron, I was not."

"That is good to hear," came the response of a second man sitting to the left of Bron. He was a taller figure with striking purple hair. "Do they suspect anything as of yet?"

"That is the good news, Konda," Rentik responded with a smile. "They don't suspect a thing. I even did the little gambit you suggested and outwardly praise Lord Breetai in front of them. One of them, that madman Xamdar, did bristle a bit at that. However, the other two do not take him very seriously."

The third member of the group stood and smiled. This man was shorter than both of his counterparts and had black hair and long, rather drawn out face. "Good. I also suspected that to be the case regarding our old friend Xamdar, seeing how Captain Hunter made him look rather foolish for all his schemes he came up with. How Khyron bought into some of those still amazes me."

"True, Commander Rico. Also, the rumors are true as well regarding who is leading the whole enterprise in that part of the Frag. Quazmin is what our friends in the RDF Intel branch would call a 'dead ringer' for the dearly departed Khyron."

Rico, Bron, and Konda all nodded at this news. Rentik's face turned to that a look of concern.

"However, where this Quazmin differs from the Backstabber is that he's not even remotely insane. He's very level headed and takes a lot after Lord Breetai in his tactical assessments."

"That is a bit of a concern," Rico added. "As unbalanced as Khyron was, he did have a reputation of being a marvelous tactician if the occasion called for it. Without the imbalances that were present, this could make him even more dangerous than Khyron ever was."

"I do see a kernel of doubt though with him," Rentik stated. "He seems rather hesitant to attack without as much as a care as we would have in the old days. He seems acutely aware that his adherents are much less than anything the RDF or even Macross Metro could throw at him if he decided to make the Frag into a re-enactment of the Argentine Quadrant."

"Also, he would be facing some of the best, if not the overall best the RDF has in Admiral Gloval, Captain Hunter, and Commodore Hayes," Konda commented.

"This Quazmin also has to be acutely aware that Khyron's tactics did not bring the desired results either," Bron added with a bit of a smirk. "I'm sure Pyoto has reminded him of this."

"Strange that Xamdar is now the less patient one while Quazmin is the one preaching caution," Rico said with a nod. "I would be willing to bet that something went wrong with the cloning this time around with him instead of with Khyron." Turning back to Rentik, he asked the question that had yet to be asked. "So, what are their plans?"

"Right now, they are opting towards not doing anything at the moment," Rentik stated matter of factly. "However, Quazmin did state he was going to have a meeting with his main warriors soon to go over a common plan of action. He is hopeful to keep anything from drawing attention to them here in New Macross. He also has been in contact with the Argentine Quadrant and has been stressing the point about not having the Zentraedi in San Rafael be the ones to start the conflict. Something about 'public opinion' among the Micronians was the given reason."

"Wise strategy," Konda mused. "I may have to let our friends at Macross Command know of this. They may be able to rein in Colonel Leonard a bit."

Bron chuckled darkly. "I doubt he'd listen to Admiral Gloval anyways if the talk from our RDF contacts were correct."

Rentik looked over at Rico, who nodded for him to continue. "With that meeting, I did get some good news. I did let it be known I had two other warriors I knew that were of like mind and wished to attend the meeting. Pyoto and Quazmin both gave their blessing."

Rico smiled. "Excellent. I will let Wigeato and Fortan know that they will be joining you. Let us know when they plan to go ahead with this meeting."

"Yes, sir," came the response. With that, Rentik saluted in Zentraedi fashion and left the room.

The three remaining Zentraedi Intelligence officers sat in silence for a few minutes as they processed the information. Bron was the first to speak to his colleagues.

"Should we contact the Micronians?"

Rico shook his head. "Not yet. We may learn more after the meeting that was planned by Quazmin." A deep sigh followed. "Besides, we would need to get the go ahead from Lord Breetai and we do not know where he stands on this current situation in the Argentine Quadrant."

"It would be distressing if we were at war again with the Micronians," Bron said with a bit of regret. He looked at his counterparts and sighed. "All of us would be opposing not true enemies, but those we would consider brothers and sisters."

Konda shook his head. "I would dare to think that it would be the same among our friends at Macross Command."

The relative melancholy among the three Zentraedi was broken by a buzzing on a nearby console. Rico moved towards it and hit the flashing red button.

"Commander Rico, this is the _Crimmon Magdomilla_ ," came a disembodied voice. Recognizing the name of the ship given, Rico seemed a bit concerned. _Normal protocol has **us**_ _usually contacting Lord Breetai, not the other way around,_ he thought. Gathering himself, he cleared his throat before tapping the button again.

"This is Commander Rico, go ahead."

"Commander, Councillor Exedore wishes to speak with you and your two subordinates immediately."

 _If Lord Breetai is having Exedore contact us, something, as our friends here say, is definitely up,_ Rico thought. He looked over at his two counterparts and nodded. The grave looks of concern mirrored his own.

"As he commands," came the rehearsed reply. "We will open up channel Eighty Seven Delta Six for immediate contact." Konda immediately shifted over to another console and punched in the channel. One of the monitors immediately went black and then was replaced by a snowy pattern.

"Acknowledged. Stand by for transmission." The disembodied voice dropped off and the red light on Rico's console went dark. Almost immediately, the monitor jumped from the snowy pattern to that of the inside of a Zentraedi cruiser with the familiar form of Exedore prominently displayed. The three Zentraedi intelligence officers immediately snapped to attention and saluted Lord Breetai's second in command. A slight nod came back in return from the smaller Zentraedi towards Rico, Bron, and Konda.

"Commander Rico, I know this was a bit unexpected, but events on Earth have warranted this slight breach in our usual protocols," Exedore started. "Have you and your men been able to gather any information regarding this situation in New Macross?"

"We have, your excellency," Rico responded. "So far, it is quiet here. However, most of my men have been reporting that if anything were to happen in the Argentine Quadrant, it may have grave consequences across the planet. And most especially here. One of my more trusted men has been able to infiltrate the main group and has made contact with the leader of the most prominent faction. There are talks there will be a gathering soon to lay out a common plan of action going forward. We should have a full report in place shortly after this happens. Also, our man appears to have been able to potentially get two more of ours in with the group."

Exedore nodded. "Excellent work. Lord Breetai will be most pleased."

Rico smiled. "Thank you, your excellency." A sigh followed as he prepared to ask the next question. "What of our standing with our allies at Macross Command? We know Colonel Leonard was up until recently a highly ranked officer there. I am sure they would appreciate any information we have as well as to what they may be facing."

Exedore had a grave look on his face. "Lord Breetai and myself did have contact with the Admiral just recently as well. We are both of the opinion that he and his two executive officers can still be trusted. There is a great sense of disapproval of the actions taken by Colonel Leonard by the Admiral, Commodore Hayes, and Captain Hunter."

"That, as the Micronians would say, is a relief, your excellency," Rico responded.

"However, we must still be cautious. If the situation were to change, there may be a chance that the RDF may become our foes again, despite the feelings of their commanding officers at Macross Command."

"They would be foolish to cast them aside," Konda stated.

"That is also very true, Konda," Exedore mused. "It is also true that the Micronians are probably the most unpredictable species we as Zentraedi have ever dealt with. They have proven this countless times in the past."

Exedore sighed. "Lord Breetai and myself also share your concerns regarding the potential of having our allies for the past few years turn back into our rivals again. That is why we are waiting before reaching out to them further with any potential information your men can cull."

"Understood, your excellency," Konda said with a sense of dejection.

Deciding to go in a bit of a different direction, Exedore continued on. "Have you heard anything from the Argentine Quadrant?"

Bron shook his head. "No, your excellency. We did have an asset there, but have not heard anything for about a week before this madness all started. We believe he may have been compromised one way or another."

"That is rather unfortunate."

"However, our source here among the main group of malcontents has been able to confirm that they are in contact with the leaders down there in that settlement. It also seems that the tactics in use are a bit unexpected. Instead of pushing for attack, the leaders here have been advising caution. And so far, it seems to be taking hold. It would appear that the tactic that is being explored is to let the Micronians strike first and allow what they call 'public opinion' to sway matters."

"An interesting gambit," Exedore mused. "One that our friends, if they had prior knowledge, could use to potentially defuse the situation."

"We also thought of that, your excellency," Rico interjected. "However, knowing Colonel Leonard's tactics and his feelings towards the Zentraedi in general, we feel it may, as they say, fall on deaf ears on his part."

"Still, I doubt the Admiral is aware this is occurring," Exedore responded. "I will discuss this further with Lord Breetai and I will be back in touch as to our decision going forward. For now, your orders remain the same. Observe and collect information."

The three saluted briefly as the image of Exedore faded to black.

* * *

In Buenos Aires, in the confines of a small office, Raven looked at one of the monitors that was showing the latest from San Rafael. _Just a matter of time before we can fully strike,_ he thought as he observed the groupings of Zentraedi protesting the current situation. Surrounding them were numbers of city police and members of the Iron Brigade. Further off in the distance, a few Destroids were setting up to act as back up for the forces surrounding the barrio.

 _However, these Xeroxes have been maddeningly patient,_ he thought with a scowl. _Normally, one or two of them would have reacted by now. It would have been all the excuse we would have needed to go ahead with the first step._ Raven then turned to his computer and smiled at the message that had come up. _Well, that is much better than I expected,_ he thought. _Phase Two may be a bit further along than first thought. The Colonel will be most pleased._

Whatever further thoughts Raven may have entertained were interrupted by the ringing of his desk phone. Taking note of the number, the brief smile he had was replaced by the earlier scowl as he picked up the receiver.

"This had better be important."

 _"Sir, we found the wreckage of the car driven by the traitor Ortega and that Xerox he was harboring."_

Raven's scowl disappeared. "Excellent. And what of our friends?"

 _"We did find two bodies in the car. However, as the car was burnt out, the fire did considerable damage to what was left of those two hijos de puta. Our investigator needed to use DNA records to identify them. They were a positive match for both."_

 _One less loose end to worry about,_ Raven mused to himself.

 _"There may be a slight complication though, sir,"_ the voice on the other end hesitated for a second.

After a second or two, he felt the good feelings he had slip away. "Somehow, there is a silence that is covering some less than satisfactory news you are about to deliver, am I correct?"

 _"Our station on the quadrant border reports that two members of the Guard, a Wolfsberger and Hochenburg, have not reported back. They reported last that they had the car in sight before going on strict radio silence."_

 _I should have known Ortega had some extra tricks up his sleeve,_ Raven fumed to himself, remembering the file about the DNA scrambler that had been issued to some of the RDF Intelligence wing. _I should have just shot the bastard when I had the chance before all this happened. I told the Colonel that it was making it too complicated to go this route. Well, that does present a major problem and if he were to escape and let some others know...No, now is **not** the time to think the worst._

Collecting his thoughts and exhaling, Raven spoke in an even tone that hinted at some potential malice if the instructions were not followed.

"I want you to contact Blienemann and Yovgeno in Ascuncion. Tell them they are to search every square meter of that God-forsaken quadrant until Ortega and the Xerox are found. Failure is not an option. And if failure **does** happen to occur, I will mail their skinned skulls back to their families. And I will mail your family back your heart with a knife through it. Understand?"

 _"Ye..ye..yes, sir."_ With that the other end of the line went dead.

Grumbling to himself at the apparent change of plans that came about with the latest news, Raven tapped in an extension he knew by heart.

"Colonel, it's Raven. We have a potential issue that's arisen."

* * *

At the Santa Isabel Monastery, both Lieutenant Ortega and Cryndor were sitting out on a covered porch area just outside of the residence of the Abbot of the sprawling monastery. The two sat in near silence while awaiting their much expected audience with the leader of the monastery. The silence in of itself was not a conscious choice, as any attempts at friendly conversation made by Ortega with his less-than-willing Zentraedi travelling companion were met with terse responses, outright silence, or, in one case, a request for the Lieutenant to perform a physical impossibility.

The icy silence hanging over the porch area was broken as one of the monks, a Brother Maynard, approached.

 _"Senors,_ this way, please. The Abbot will see you now."

The two rose and made their way towards the door leading back into the residence. Cryndor let out a half muttered "About time," as he followed behind Ortega and the monk. Going through the residence, both took note that the dwelling would be best termed as modest, yet comfortable. Bookcases lined the walls of the main corridor and around the living room area. Off to the side, Ortega noted a dining room area and a kitchen nearby. As they made their way down another hallway towards a flight of stairs, he assumed the upper portion was the Abbot's personal chambers. _Not too bad of a place for being out the middle of nowhere,_ Ortega mused. _This is probably the nicest house between Asuncion and the border._

"I thought you said these were men of God," Cryndor whispered over to his counterpart. "From what I remember of them in the area I lived in, they had nothing of this sort. Something about what they called a 'vow of poverty,' whatever that is."

"God works in mysterious ways. Also, they are just as human as the rest of us. But with a better connection with the Almighty."

Cryndor rolled his eyes. "For the life of me, I'll never understand this religion concept of you Micronians."

"Oh ye of little faith," Ortega responded with a smile, leaving his counterpart even more confused than usual.

Motioning the two behind him to follow, Brother Maynard made his way down another set of stairs towards another corridor. This one was decorated with fine woodwork. Coming to a door, he opened it. Behind the door was a standard reception area with another monk at a desk, typing up something on a rather old typewriter.

The group of three stopped at the desk as Brother Maynard stepped forward.

"Good day, Brother Tuck. Our visitors are here to see His Grace."

The other monk nodded and stood up. "Gentlemen, follow me please." Brother Tuck then led Ortega and Cryndor to a large set of doors. Pulling back, Brother Tuck opened one of the immense doors and motioned for the two men to follow him into the next room.

The room was much like the rest of the house in that the walls had massive bookcases attached, each one filled with books of various sizes, languages, and subject matter. At the end of the room was a large desk and a figure facing towards the back wall sitting behind it.

"Your Grace. May I present our visitors. Lieutenant Ortega and _Senor_ Cryndor."

 _"Gracias, hermano,"_ came the response from the figure behind the desk. "You may leave us now."

Brother Tuck bowed and walked back towards the entrance, pulling the door shut with a loud click. The man behind the desk turned towards Ortega and Cryndor and rose. Pulling back the cowl of his cloak, Cryndor did a double take at the sight. The man in front of him, outside of minor differences in complexion and hair color was almost a virtual match of the man standing next to him, right down to a distinctive eye patch over his right eye.

 _The Micronians seem to have really adapted to the secrets from Zor's flagship,_ Cryndor thought. _Not only have they harnessed the power of Protoculture, but they also have learned the art of cloning if what I see in front of me is correct._

The Abbot noticed the puzzled look on the Zentraedi's face and tried not to start laughing at the reaction. Clearing his mind of the thought of a Zentraedi trying to process the concept of identical twins, the Abbot began to speak.

 _"Buenos dias, senors._ I am Father Jimenez, Abbot of the Santa Isabel Monastery. I believe we have a lot to discuss as to how you two wayward souls ended up on my doorstep."

* * *

Back at Macross Command, the small office was a hive of activity on the inside as Major Danny Rodgers looked over the monitors showing the inside of a conference room. Taking a quick peek at his watch, he noted the time mentally in his head and turned towards another figure in the room.

"Rick, it's 1245. May want to get into position so that our friend doesn't think anything is off."

Rick nodded back towards Rodgers with a grim look of determination on his face. He also looked over towards yet another figure in the room who had a mixed look of concern and anger towards the upcoming events that were pending.

"Rick, I'm still not fully in favor of this," Lisa Hayes stated. "I could just have a platoon of MP's show up at her dorm room and have her tossed in the brig.."

Rick cut off the conversation before Lisa could go any further. "On what grounds? Circumstantial evidence is hardly enough to warrant a room search. A first year JAG would be able to get her off on that charge faster than you can say 'illegal search'. As much as you don't like this and as much as **I** don't like this, it's our best chance to get something concrete."

"Still, if that tart tries anything, I'll be in there before she would have a chance to drop her..."

A loud _ahem_ cut off this vivid description from Lisa as to the possible events that may unfold. Stepping forward was the tall figure of Admiral Gloval.

"Commodore, you will do nothing of the kind," the Admiral intoned. "You will stay here until the signal is given by Captain Hunter."

Lisa nodded, but shot Rick a sour look. The Admiral took note of this and softened his tone before continuing.

"Lisa, I also do not like this one bit. However, you can trust Rick on this. It may be our only chance to see if our suspicions regarding Sergeant Graham are founded and also if there are potentially others on base engaging the same activity."

Rick nodded emphatically. "I said there's nobody else but you and I mean it."

"You still didn't have to call in Admiral Gloval though, Rick."

"I also know you too well, Forever Girl. Graham would see you in there and her shields would be on full." _Just like yours were up on full after one of our many spats, Lisa. Can't say I really don't miss having to walk on eggshells around you._ Taking a deep breath, he walked over to Lisa and held her close.

"I promise you, I'll be on my best behavior."

"It's not you I'm worried about, Rick," came the answer.

Rick nodded. "That, Lisa, I do agree with you about. But, as we both said, I don't enjoy being bait and you don't like seeing that happen. However, we need for her to have her guard down."

Rick kissed Lisa tenderly and released her from his hold. Starting towards the door, he turned and saluted to the others in the room as he exited.

Closing the door behind him, Rick started towards the conference room, alone in his thoughts.

 _I hope to God I'm doing the right thing here. Too much can potentially go wrong, and it could crush Lisa in the process._ Pushing the thoughts out of his head, a sense of determination came over him as he entered the room. Looking up towards one of the array of hidden cameras, a small smile came across his face as he settled in at the front of the table.

 _It was one thing Pops always told me. Always be damn sure you have an insurance policy handy. You never know when you'll actually need it._

* * *

 ** _Author's Note_** _\- More movement towards an eventual resolution of a great many things, hence the title for this one. It's just a matter of time before the volcano erupts._

 _Quick bit of business to cover review-wise:_

 ** _Just A Crazy Man -_** _Indeed they are. In what direction remains to be seen (as a famous philosopher once said, the future is always in motion). Forgot about that with our old buddy Leonard. Still, keeping him at Colonel level kind of gives it a bit of that old school malevolence regarding coups in the real world as a lot of them seem to be led by Colonels. As for Russo and the Senate and Council, they'll figure in again soon enough. As for the other ideas...all will be revealed in due time._

 ** _In the next installment -_** _Tensions increase as plots and plans are revealed and the world seems bent towards going into utter chaos. Stay tuned for Chapter 11: **Flashpoint** , the next exciting episode of **Robotech: Shrouds Of Darkness**_


	11. Ch 11 - Flashpoint

**Chapter Eleven - Flashpoint**

The situation in the San Rafael barrio of Buenos Aires had by this time gripped the attention of Micronian and Zentraedi alike across the planet. Unfolding before many on live feeds either on television, computer, or mobile devices, the ongoing standoff between the newly galvanized forces of authority under Colonel Anatole Leonard and the Micronized Zentraedi that called the barrio home had been edging closer and closer to erupting in a new spasm of violence. An overall sense of uneasiness with the current situation grew as the minutes ticked by. As one commentator on the constant media updates stated, it would take just one little act to cause this situation to spiral fully out of control.

It was something that some of the Zentraedi were acutely aware of. As Izadu gazed over towards the fence, he had a sense of dread come over him. _To say we are grossly outnumbered is an understatement,_ he mused to himself as he looked out the vast numbers of Micronians on the other side of the fence. _Bad enough they have most of their police here, but these newer forces just make it that much worse._ Looking over the men behind him, he could feel a faint smile come over his face. _At least the men are listening to my orders,_ he thought. _It seems odd to **not** be trying to go on the offense here, as we've all been taught since we emerged from the tubes. Unfortunately, I do not know how much longer I can hold them back. Or if the Micronians will be ruthless enough to go ahead and press their advantage._ Gazing back over across the fence, he sighed. _Any commander given an advantage like this would be mad not to press it. Then again, the Micronians have always been unpredictable in their actions._

Izadu's internal dialogue was broken by the arrival of Nadtal. Looking back at his fellow warrior, Izadu could not help but notice the look of concern and dismay on his colleague's face.

"What news do you bring me, Nadtal? I have a feeling by the look on your face I am not going to like what I am about to hear."

"Izadu, there may be a potential situation about a half _rhyl_ to the north and east of us," came the response. "That madman Aranda is speaking to the warriors over there. Tensions are rising and the warriors up there may not adhere to our decision not to act."

"The fool! Does he not realize that provoking the Micronians is the absolute last thing we want to do right now? They are looking for an excuse to go ahead with an attack on this settlement!"

Nadtal shook his head. "I tried to dissuade him from speaking, but I was shouted down. I fear we do not have much more time before they do something rash."

Izadu sighed and started off in the direction of the potential spark. Looking over to a small group of warriors, he motioned quickly. "Men, come with me. We have something to attend to." He then turned to the others. "The rest of you, stand your ground and do not provoke any reaction from our friends across the way. Anyone violating the order will be dealt with accordingly."

With that the small group of warriors followed the two commanders silently towards the area of concern, hoping they were not too late.

* * *

Far from the crisis that was unfolding in Argentina, the mood at Macross Command was much more relaxed as the day to day activities continued on without as much as a pause. Within the compound, a solitary figure sat behind the front of a table in a conference room glancing over a folder in front of them. The figure, a man with dark hair in an RDF uniform sighed as he looked over the contents.

 _She's had more than enough chances to get her act together,_ Captain Rick Hunter stated to himself silently. _It seems there's some sort of progress, then just as the Lightning is close to being rolled out, something happens and it gets set back._ Looking over the file, he continued to mull over the situation that faced him. _Seems way too convenient, especially after the findings Danny let me in on. I hope this isn't the case, but if it is, this is something that would cause some serious problems._

A soft beep came up on the console in front of him. Rick looked down and tapped the button.

"Hey Rick, just got word from Max that Graham's on her way. She should be to the conference room very soon. Ben and Amelia just contacted in and they'll be sending over the results of her latest attempt at the checkout."

"Thanks for the heads up, Lisa. Any indication on how it went?"

"From what he gathered from those two, it was about the usual."

Rick responded with a deep sigh, knowing what was being hinted at. At almost the same time, another light lit up on the console. This one indicated a data transfer had completed. Tapping the button, Rick read over the contents and scowled.

"By that look, I guess the grades just arrived."

Rick nodded, remembering Lisa was off in another office, where the observation station had been set up. "Yep. Another failed attempt," he stated. _Wonderful,_ he thought. _This little meeting may be a bit more eventful than I first thought._

"You say the word and I'm there with a squad of MP's," came the response on the intercom.

"Don't think it'll come to that," Rick stated evenly. As he sat at the desk, a thought began to blossom in his head. A quick smirk came across Rick's face. It was one Lisa had become well acquainted with over the years.

"I sense an idea is forming if I didn't know any better," she responded. "Try not to hurt yourself, Flyboy," adding a smirk of her own.

"Funny, Forever Girl. And yes, you're right. I do have an idea. One that may solidify what we're suspecting."

"Go on."

"Well, it seems every time she's failed on the check-out, some sort of new bug hits the VF-4 project."

Lisa smiled and motioned to the Engineering officer, Major Danny Rodgers to come over. Rodgers, hearing this, nodded as well and then spoke up.

"So, Captain, you're thinking if you were to postpone this meeting by, say, an hour or two, we may see some an attempted hack?"

"Correct, Danny."

Rodgers nodded in acknowledgement of this and opened up his laptop. Punching in some quick commands, he smiled. "Understood, Captain. I have the monitoring system up and running here. If our friend gets cute and decides to mess with the VF-4's again, we'll know."

Lisa looked over at Rodgers and then back to Rick. _Solid evidence would make this a lot easier,_ she thought. _Also, you wouldn't be risking getting molested by some tart desperate to avoid a long stretch at New Leavenworth._

She then looked back at the monitor in front of her. "Guess you have new orders, Captain."

Rick nodded. "Appears that way. Time to go ahead and set the trap. I'll see you two shortly." With that, Rick ended the connection and dug out his cell phone. He punched in a number and took a deep breath as he awaited for the contact to pick up.

* * *

In the corridors of Macross Command, Sargent Susan Graham found herself making a lonely walk towards one of the wings in the executive section of the base. _Another failed attempt on the check-out_ , she thought to herself. _However, I could have passed this one with ease. But, orders are orders, I guess._ Graham thought back to an earlier conversation prior to her making her latest attempt. A thought crossed her mind as she kept on her way. _It's pretty doubtful the RDF Intel is on to me. I've been very careful to cover my tracks throughout. But somehow, that last call from Dragon did put that seed of doubt into me._

The concern she did have about her current situation disappeared as she thought to something else. _However, that may not all matter too much soon. Especially once Dragon moves on the information I sent him earlier._ Checking her messages, she did see one text that brought a smile to her face.

 _"Sparrow, thank you for the intel. Our friends seem interested and then some. I should have more information later to send home. Lupo is expecting to see you soon."_

Swiftly removing the text from her inbox, Graham tapped the phone again and put it back into her jacket pocket. _Things are starting to come together. Just waiting for the big signal to be made and we can proceed._

Her thoughts were swiftly interrupted by her phone vibrating in her pocket. Fishing the phone out, she saw the caller ID and was a bit surprised. _Guess he's wondering why I'm taking so long. Well, time to put an act on,_ she thought as she tapped the phone.

"Yes, Captain? I'm on my way. Should be there in...what? Oh yes, totally understood, sir! 1500? Not a problem. Understood, sir."

Closing off the call, Graham stopped in her tracks and headed off in a different direction. While making her way down the hallway, she was tapping away at her phone.

 _"Change in plans. Meeting pushed back to 1500."_

The response back came quickly.

 _"Understood. Proceed as you see fit regarding the target. Dragon should be reaching out later once things are confirmed."_

Smiling as she removed the text, Graham glanced at her watch. _Just a little after 1300. Plenty of time to leave one last gift before leaving this place._

Boarding one of the elevators that led towards the main barrack area, a sly smile came over her face as she made her way back up. _One domino is about to fall, followed by another. Once they start, it's impossible to stop._

* * *

In one of the conference rooms nearby, Lisa Hayes and Danny Rodgers sat back watching the main monitor in the room. The screen had changed over from a view of the room where Rick was to meet Graham to Rodgers's laptop screen. The screen itself was split in two. One was a map of the Macross Command complex while the other was of web traffic flowing between Macross Command and the Proving Grounds mainframe.

"All quiet for right now, Commodore," Rodgers said with a grim smile.

Lisa nodded at this bit of news. "Somehow, Major, you sense that this may change shortly?"

Rodgers nodded back. "If Graham is the hacker, there should be some activity very soon."

The conversation was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. One of the MP's stationed nearby cracked it open and looked back to Lisa.

"Ma'am? It's Captain Hunter."

Lisa nodded. With that, the MP swung the door open, allowing the CAG for Macross Command to enter with a quick salute.

Rick saluted to both officers inside the relatively dark room before taking a seat next to Lisa.

"Everything's all set. Pushed the meeting back with Graham to 1500."

"Hopefully you won't have any reason to have that meeting," Lisa said with a bit of distaste for the entire situation. "If she does what we expect her to do, we'll have more than enough to drag her to the brig."

"Depends on if she didn't realize we're aware of the steps she's taking," Rodgers interjected.

Both Lisa and Rick nodded. It had been what Danny had called a massive stroke of luck that Jack Baker had noticed someone had tampered with his laptop the night prior. A few quick calls later and a quick scan found what had been put in place, namely a slaving program that would use Baker's laptop as the point of contact while the actual hacking went on from another computer.

"Or the countermeasures you, Dr. Lang, and Dr. Koromatsu implemented," Rick added with a smile.

"So, we sit back and wait?" Lisa asked.

Both Rick and Danny nodded.

* * *

Back in the barracks area, Sue Graham made the way back towards her room. Checking one of the rooms nearby, she looked towards the door and saw a bit of light coming in from underneath. As she looked towards the door, one of the other pilots from Skull, Sargent Jessie Davies, who went by the call sign "Dazzler" saw her there and spoke.

"Hey Sue, wouldn't go visiting Baker right now. He caught that nasty stomach flu that's been going around."

Sue nodded to the other pilot. "So I heard, Dazz. Was just checking to see if he's feeling any better. Didn't get an answer when I knocked."

"Most likely, he's either sleeping it off or visiting the head."

Graham thought for a second. "Thought you were supposed to be on patrol today with the others?"

Davies shook her head. "Nope. Change in plans. They gave that scheduled patrol to Weckman's crew. Mir, Bakes, Tintin, and Stitch are all laid up with this bug and the Boss thought it didn't make much sense to only send two fighters out."

Graham nodded. "Well, I'm gonna just chill a bit in my bunk. Boss had wanted to discuss some stuff with me but pushed it back to 1500. Said something important came up."

Davies frowned. "Most likely, it's something to do with that mess in South America. From what I saw on MBS this morning, it's about to kick off."

"Or already has. Think we'll get called in on that?"

"Who knows, Mystique. Hopefully not though." Davies glanced at her watch. "Well, I'm heading over to the sims for a bit. Might as well keep sharp in case we're off to Buenos Aires or somewhere else."

"Roger that. Might as well see what's going on down there while waiting for this meeting. Catch you later, Dazz."

With that, Graham entered her room without as much a second glance towards her squadmate. If she had checked back, she would have noticed that Davies had pulled out her phone and was in the middle of sending a quick text.

* * *

In the conference room, Rick's phone vibrated. Glancing at it, he smiled and turned to both Danny and Lisa.

"That was Dazzler. Graham is back in her bunk. She doesn't suspect a thing."

"Everything's set on our side, Rick," Danny responded with a smirk. "Now it's up to our suspect to make the next move."

The next move happened relatively quickly.

"We got something! Got activity coming from where exactly we suspected."

Both Rick and Lisa turned and focused on the main monitor in the conference room. They both saw that the map portion of the screen left zero doubts as to where the activity was coming from. There was a paler blip in the vicinity of Jack Baker's bunk room, while the brighter blip was directly on Susan Graham's room. However, when they tried to decipher the activity, they found themselves looking over at their companion for a more thorough explanation of what was transpiring.

Noting the confusion on the faces of the two officers regarding the stream, Danny smiled and turned to the confused officers. "There's been a surge in attempts on the network to access the Proving Grounds servers, namely the node that holds the VF-4 main programming. Fortunately, the new advanced firewalls are holding up and they're getting nowhere."

"That's a relief," Rick stated.

"So, now that we know who the mole is," Lisa questioned. "What were the countermeasures you and the good doctors came up with? I have to assume it just wasn't a beefier firewall."

"Correct, ma'am. We added three little surprises for our friend."

"Such as?"

"First, on their screen, it will appear to her as if she had able to get in, when in fact, she's been dumped into a quarantined area of the server that has zero actual effect. It's a dummy mirror of the server. She can make changes, but they won't stick. Secondly, everything she's doing is being recorded thanks to a rather advanced keylogger. So, we're gonna know what she was trying to run and how it was coded."

"And the third little surprise?" Rick asked.

"That's where your boy Jack came into play," Danny said. "Seems Graham decided to use his laptop as a decoy. Baker was kind enough to let us know that some new files appeared on his laptop yesterday around the time he bumped into Graham in the hallway. Whoever gave this program to Graham, they supplied her with a rather primitive version. Dr. Lang and I kinda upgraded it with a twist."

Lisa smiled. "I can only imagine the twist."

"Not only are we able to pinpoint the actual source computer, we're also able to snag an image of it and decrypt anything that's on it in a matter of minutes without the user even noticing."

Rick whistled. "Gives you guys a chance to actually see what was done before she does something like wipe the laptop's drive"

"Exactly that," Danny stated. "It may take some time to see what else is there, but the whole trying to hack the mainframe at the Proving Grounds part is pretty much instantaneous." He peered over at a status bar and smiled. "Got a full capture of the hard drive. Looks like just in time as well. She just hopped offline."

The blips on the displayed map disappeared and the activity monitor resumed what would be assumed to be a more normal output. With that, Danny disconnected his laptop and rose from his seat. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get down to Engineering to lend a hand with sifting through the data from this."

Lisa nodded. "May want to let Intel know as well."

Danny nodded and saluted. "Yes, ma'am. I've kept Colonel Logan in the loop with everything. He's waiting with Dr. Lang to go through all of this personally."

"Understood. As soon as you have anything, please let us know immediately."

A nod followed as Danny left the room, leaving Lisa and Rick alone, processing what had just transpired.

Rick took a deep breath, trying to keep focus. "Unbelievable. I let arguably one of the potentially biggest traitors this side of Benedict Arnold become a part of the most elite division in the RDF."

Lisa slid over a bit closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't have any idea this was going to turn out as it did, Rick. So, next step? Have the MPs swoop in and grab that traitorous bitch?"

Rick shook his head. "No, meeting still goes off at 1500. Any changes will cause her to know we're on to her."

"Are you crazy?" Lisa barked back with a sense of anger. "It's almost as if you **do** want Graham to throw yourself at you. Besides, _Commodore_ is a bit higher up the food chain than _Captain_ , or did you forget that?"

"Sorry, Lisa," Rick responded with a bit of an edge. "Admiral Gloval made the call on this one, so I'd suggest taking it up with him. And last time checked, anyone making a decision with an _Admiral_ rank attached to their name kinda outweighs anything you or I could imagine."

He glanced over at Lisa, noticing the sparkle in her green eyes was gone, replaced with a sharp intense look to them. _Knew she was gonna be a little pissed off when this happened._

"I'm just the messenger on this one," Rick pleaded. "I'm on record as to not liking this one damn bit. But orders are orders."

"Fine," Lisa grumbled. "You do anything beyond what's appropriate, you can kiss your three best friends goodbye. And I **don't** mean the ones that are down at the sims."

Rick gulped. _Note to self: Put a block on Investigation Discovery on the cable boxes at home so she doesn't get any "ideas"._

* * *

As events in Macross were in the process of becoming more complex, the situation in Buenos Aires was evolving by the second. In a more lightly defended area around the San Marcos barrio, a gathering of Zentraedi were approaching a small contingent of police and auxiliary militia. At the front of the group of Zentraedi was one known as Aranda.

It was to this that Nadtal and Izadu arrived. Without hesitation, they walked over to Aranda, who was brandishing a megaphone pleading with the Micronian authorities to be heard.

"What in the name of the gods are you doing, Aranda?" Izadu shouted at the leader. "Under no circumstances are we to provoke the Micronians!"

"I am not, as you said, 'provoking' the Micronians. I am simply asking for a forum to be heard," Aranda said plainly. "I do have a bit of what the Micronians call 'gravitas' in regards to this due to my time on the city council representing our neighborhood. They'll listen to me."

Nadtal started to laugh. "The Micronians stopped listening to you and us a long time ago. Probably around the time that poor Pelega got shot. Was I dreaming or weren't you marginalized to a point of embarassment?"

"And yet you madmen decided that setting off a bomb at the House was going to magically fix things?," Aranda shot back with anger. "That did not work, if you did not notice."

"Careful what you say, Aranda," Izadu growled. "There's no tubes around here at last check."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, but I would advise standing down and allowing the others to calm down a bit before we give them an excuse to attack," Nadtal stated while pointing towards the line of Micronian authorities just on the other side of the fence.

The argument between the three Zentraedi leaders continued unabated while the police and militia sat back with a blend of bemusement at the infighting that was going on and a growing anticipation of what was to occur shortly.

* * *

Watching from an office building across the city, Colonel Leonard and one of his aides, a Lieutenant Alvarez, also observed the confrontation. A sly grin came across the Colonel's face.

"Sir, think it's time to proceed?" Alvarez asked.

Leonard took a puff off of his cigarette and smiled. "We've toyed with these Xerox bastards long enough." With that, he pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number.

* * *

In one of the command stations near the barrio, the nominal leader of the combined police and militia forces, Chief Bartolmeo Di Lorenzo sat and observed the intel being delivered by the drones helicopters above the now surrounded area.

 _I'll give these Xeroxes credit,_ Di Lorenzo mused. _They've yet to pick a fight with us as of yet. Most often, they'd have started tossing rocks and Molotov Cocktails into our ranks by now. This patience they're showing is rather disturbing._

Standing next to the Chief was a man in a black uniform of the Iron Brigade. Tapping on his ear, he turned away for a brief second. In the earpiece, he could hear the voice of his commanding officer.

 _"The time has come, my friend. The Southern Cross shall rise again."_

"As you command, sir."

 _"Excellent. You shall have your official excuse shortly. Once this happens, e_ _xecute Order 18 to the letter. No mercy is to be shown._ _Strength and honor."_

"Strength and honor." With that, he tapped his ear again and turned towards Chief Di Lorenzo.

"Chief, I think the time for talking is at an end. I can sense that the _copias_ are about to up the ante, so to say."

Di Lorenzo nodded. "I sense you are right, my friend. Still, I'm not making the first move here. If they so much as twitch the wrong way, I'll give the order."

The man in black nodded. "Understood, Chief. However, I put nothing past them."

"I can only pray that they listen to reason and stand down. The last thing we need is more violence."

 _Chief, you are an honorable man,_ the man in black thought. _However, if your conscience gets in the way of what is necessary, you will need to step aside...one way or the other._

* * *

Back at Macross Command, Rick Hunter gazed as his watch. _Almost 1500,_ he thought. Taking a deep breath, he settled back into his chair in the conference room and awaited what was to come. He gazed up at one of the monitors, which was on MBS and was giving the latest information regarding the unfolding situation in Buenos Aires and other major cities in the South American quadrants. _As if the situation here wasn't bad enough, it's about a thousand times worse down there,_ he mused. _Getting a feeling Tom was right and it's gonna be time to get some sunscreen and brush up on my Spanish._

Any further thoughts were broken up as he heard a knock at the door. Shutting the monitor off, he stood up from the chair and sighed.

"It's open."

The door swung open and in walked Susan Graham.

Rick was a bit surprised at what he noticed as she came in. _For someone who's career hangs by a thread, she's sure not showing any real concerns here,_ he thought. _She seems to be a bit cocky, as if she knows something. Well, we'll just play along and see how she handles things._

She stood at attention and snapped a brisk salute. "You asked to see me, sir?"

"Yes. Please, have a seat. There's a few things we need to go over here regarding your check-out on the VF-4."

Graham sat down in a chair somewhat close to where Rick was situated at the front of the table. A wry smirk came over her face as she looked towards her commanding officer. _Either way, today I'll get what I want. It's pretty simple. Hunter will go ahead and do it the easy way or he'll be stubborn and we'll have to do this the hard way._

Rick remained standing and turned towards a desk table that was behind his seat. Looking over the files placed there, he grabbed the one he was looking for.

"OK, Graham. I got your most recent check-out results and..."

Rick's thought train was suddenly derailed at what he saw next. In the time he had turned around, Graham had removed her uniform jacket and had unbuttoned three buttons on her blouse. She also had hiked her skirt up a few inches and was leaning back in her chair in what would charitably be called a provocative manner.

Rick for one was speechless. _Guess Penn was right on the money about this. She's playing this card on me. Not really surprising this was coming. However, I have to think Lisa is losing her mind right about now._

Susan smiled back sweetly and dangled a shoe off of her foot.

"So, Captain, how did I do?" she asked with a bit of a purr behind her request.

Rick shook his head. _Yeah, this is not going to turn out all that well at all. Just keep thinking of Lisa, Rick. Think of the Forever Girl._

Graham at this point had gotten up out of her chair and sat on the table directly in front of Rick.

"Rick," she said softly. "Did I pass or do I have to, _ahem_ , bribe the teacher?" She smiled as she undid another button on the blouse.

Rick had had enough. He stood up and glared right at woman in front of him.

"What in the name of all that is holy are you doing, Graham?"

The look on Susan's face did not change.

"You know you want me, Rick. I can tell from how you look at me all the time. I just need to pass the check-out. And trust me, Rick, I will do anything to do so."

She came a bit closer to Rick and whispered in his ear.

" _And I mean **anything**."_

Rick pulled back further, the look on his face had long since turned from surprise to anger.

"First off, it's _Captain_ to you, not _Rick_. You haven't earned that right to call me that, nor will you ever. Secondly, if you're trying to seduce me, forget it. I'm already spoken for and that's something I'm not about to change. Not interested, Sue," he shouted back, with the emphasis on _not interested_.

Just as Graham stood up to come closer to Rick again, the door swung open. Turning around, she saw a very visibly angry Commodore Lisa Hayes standing with four MPs. Rick caught a glimpse of Lisa and cringed. _The last time I saw her have a look like that, Lynn Kyle nearly was singing soprano after he tried to go after me after Star Saver._

"Commodore, thank you for coming in. I'd like to press charges against Captain Hunter. He tried to force himself on me."

"Shut up, Graham," Lisa said sharply. "The amount of trouble you are in is unimaginable at this point. Also, I saw the whole thing and know you're lying out of your ass."

Susan had a dumbfounded look at that comment. She looked over at Rick, who was smirking and pointing towards one of the plants in the corner. Looking a bit closer, she saw the faint reflection of a camera lens.

"Smile. You're on camera," Rick said as he walked towards Lisa.

Graham glared back at the couple with a look that was bordering on homicidal.

"Better hope there's nothing on that laptop of yours that would make this a hell of a lot worse," Lisa stated with a bit of bitterness.

"Good luck with that, Hayes," Graham replied tartly. "I already wiped the thing clean. You can't prove a damn thing and you know it!"

"Wanna bet? Dr. Lang and company already have it," Rick said with a smirk. "They've already started checking it out and found some very interesting stuff. Turns out they got an image of it before you wiped it. Also, we know you screwed around with Baker's laptop and we know you were the one messing with the VF-4's programming. Shouldn't have been that sloppy."

Rick motioned to the MPs who surrounded Graham and placed her in handcuffs.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Sargent Susan Graham," Lisa intoned. "You are under arrest for conduct unbecoming, cyber terrorism, and treason." She then turned to the MPs. "Get her out of my sight."

"This is not over. You don't know who you're messing with, Hunter!"

"Seeing you're pretty much going to be calling New Leavenworth home for the next millennium, I'll take my chances," Rick responded. He then looked over a file he had in his hand and sighed.

"The sad thing is, Graham, you didn't have to pull that all. Turns out you passed on the last go round. I'd offer congratulations, but seeing how this all turned out, you'll understand as to why I won't."

Lisa nodded to the MPs as she pulled closer to Rick.

As the procession left, Rick hugged Lisa tightly and kissed her.

"Thank you for having faith in me to do the right thing. When I said you were the one and only for me, I meant it, Forever Girl."

Lisa smiled. "It was tough, Flyboy. I wanted to burst in the moment that whore started to undo her blouse buttons." She leaned in closer and whispered. _"What did she mean by 'anything'?"_

"Oh, probably things you do waaaaay better," Rick said with a sly smirk as he pulled Lisa closer.

* * *

As the procession of MPs and the now disgraced Susan Graham made their way towards the Security wing of Macross Command, an orderly observed the figures as they headed towards the brig. Ducking out of the way, the orderly pulled out his cell phone and tapped in a number he knew by heart. Looking around to be sure nobody was near, he spoke quickly.

"Things have changed. Sparrow has been caged."

* * *

On the other end of the line, Raven was hard pressed to find any words that would make his anger at the news that was relayed to him fade. Quickly closing the call without as much as an acknowledgement to the informant, he stared at the ceiling and sighed. _I told her this was a bad idea, and I made sure Dragon relayed my concerns. But no, she went ahead with it anyways._ Another thought crossed his mind. _And knowing the RDF Intel, they'll be trying to get any info they can out of her. We can only hope she doesn't start singing as that would present a major problem going forward._

Raven picked up his phone and punched in a number he knew by heart.

"Colonel. Our source at Macross was compromised."

 _"No matter, Raven. She served her purpose. Events are about to overtake them regardless if they know or not."_

"So, Order 18 is proceeding?"

 _"I just gave the word. The men are just waiting for the signal."_

A smile came across Raven's face. "At least one good thing came out of today. I guess I should give the green light to the other plan we discussed."

 _"A little distraction may not hurt. Macross will be less likely to stick their noses in down here if they have troubles of their own to deal with."_

"Understood. I'll let Dragon know to proceed. And as for our trapped Sparrow? She still may serve a purpose. Lupe's crew could use her talents."

A somewhat exasperated sigh came forth from the other side of the call. _"Fine. Anything to keep that idiot happy, I guess. Why I pay him anything is beyond me."_

"Besides, Sparrow will be forever grateful to us. Plus, she can keep Lupe in line." _Or replace him if he screws up again,_ Raven added quietly.

 _"And the contingency plan if Lupe's bunch fail?"_

"Already in the works. Jean-Paul is on board. He wanted me to say, _merci beaucoup_ for letting him know. If anything, I'd be more comfortable with Jean-Paul's bunch being the primary and Lupe's being the meat shields."

A pause came over the phone. _"Excellent idea. That may be the way to go instead. Takes care of a lot of loose ends and headaches. Speaking of headaches, Russo wants to talk about something. However, go ahead and let our other Macross agents to get Sparrow out of there and down to Lupe's group. Once Sparrow is in position and Dragon has everything set, we can go ahead with the next phase."_

"Understood, Colonel." With that, the phone went dead.

Raven smiled as he thought about the events that were to unfold. _Normally, I'd go ahead and make sure our operatives are unable to give any info before it becomes a potential problem. Consider yourself lucky, Sparrow that things have progressed further. However, for your foolishness, you'll just have to stew a bit in the tender mercies of the RDF. Just be thankful the Xeroxes didn't capture you. I've heard about how **their** intel gets information. They make my methods look humane by comparison._

He stared at the phone for second, but opted to go on to a special email account. Putting in two addresses he had memorized, Raven typed a quick message.

 _"This is your 0600 Wake Up Call. Implement Action Birdcage."_

After clicking on the send button, Raven opened a new message up, entering in a different address.

 _"Green light given. Give our new 'friends' the info we discussed."_

 _That should keep Hunter and his friends a bit busy for a while,_ Raven thought with a smirk. _By the time they can re-focus down here, it will be far too late to make a difference. As Anatole keeps saying, history is about to outpace you all._ With this, he tapped in an access code and picked up the receiver.

* * *

At the San Rafael barrio, the commotion between the ongoing argument between Izadu, Nadtal, and Aranda had distracted the other Zentraedi in that area from the Micronian forces on the other side of the barriers. To their credit, the local police and Iron Brigade militia were taking more of a bemused view of the infighting going on. However, the argument did serve one of the black suited militia members well. He tapped on his headset after hearing a chime

 _"Rinker, it is time. You will give the signal to allow Order 18 to be fully implemented."_

"Shouldn't we alert...?"

 _"No, unfortunately, their sacrifice will be necessary."_

"Understood. I will signal back when everything is set. Strength and Honor."

With that, he tapped at the earpiece, killing the connection. Rinker looked ahead and saw his target, namely a command vehicle that was parked near the area in question. Heading towards the back, he saw another man in a black uniform casually having a cigarette. A nod followed from the fellow Iron Brigade member as he realized what Rinker was here to do. He casually stepped away from the vehicle and smiled. After walking a safe distance, the man tapped on his earpiece.

"It's in position."

* * *

Back in the safety of his office, Raven took hold of a triggering mechanism in his right hand. _You're a good man, Rinker,_ he thought. _May peace be upon you, brother, and find it in your heart to forgive me for this next act. However, as a true believer, you understand as to why it had to be this way._

Raven exhaled and clicked on the trigger.

* * *

Whatever differences of opinion between the three Zentraedi leaders evaporated quickly as they heard a loud explosion off to their backs. Looking over towards the Micronian side, they could see an expanding cloud of smoke and debris lifting into the skies.

For a brief moment, there was absolute silence on both sides of the barrio as the latest incident was being processed by both Zentraedi and Micronian alike.

This was followed by a shout from the Micronian side that sent a chill down the spines of the Zentraedi leaders.

 _"Execute Order 18!"_

Gunfire began to erupt from the Micronian side almost immediately into the mass of Zentraedi protesters in front of them. As most were unarmed, the opening salvo had a desired effect of thinning the crowd significantly. Almost by instinct, the rest of the protesters began to fall back quickly as a wave of black uniformed Micronian troops swarmed into the barrio.

* * *

Izadu and Nadtal found themselves among the stampede among the Zentraedi to get as far away as possible from the shooting and the onrushing militia troops. _If I had a weapon handy, I'd have stood my ground,_ Izadu thought to himself. _Either way, I need to find a place to make a transmission back to Quazmin advising him of the situation, that is if he's not aware of it now._

Glancing to his side, he saw that Nadtal was keeping up with him and was following without any question. Aranda was also keeping up as best as he could as well. Just as Izadu looked over, a bolt struck the unfortunate Aranda in the head with a shower of red. The now headless corpse sank to the ground among the others that had fallen in the retreat.

Making their way back to one of the denser areas in the heart of the barrio, the two leaders looked over the collection of warriors and mentally took a tally of how many were among them. _There's about fifty of us if that,_ Izadu estimated. _Against that much firepower, it may not exactly be the most ideal, but we need to do what we can here._

Turning to the assembled Zentraedi, he did not hesitate on the next batch of orders.

"Men, get your weapons and make your way into the buildings. We may not win this day, but we can make it as hard as possible for them to succeed in their madness. Shoot anything in a black shirt and give no quarter. It would appear that the Micronians are acting in kind for once."

Izadu then turned to Nadtal.

"Give me your communicator. I must reach out to our friends in New Macross."

"Not much good they're going to be here," Nadtal responded sarcastically. "Besides, I think they're probably going to be very aware of what is going on shortly." He gestured towards the sky, noting the drones above.

 _For once, I see the logic in appeasing the information blasts,_ Izadu thought as he looked up as well. _From what Quazmin's group was reporting, this will not go over well in New Macross._ Finding his voice, he turned to his colleague. "Better they hear it from us than through the information blasts, though."

Nadtal handed over the communicator and watched as Izadu punched in a code and awaited a response. Grabbing a weapon, he nodded to his fellow warrior as he made his way towards the upper level of one of the buildings nearby.

* * *

Over in New Macross, the unfolding events in Buenos Aires were noticed almost immediately in one of the many houses in The Frag. Three of the Zentraedi Intelligence Service wing's main contacts in the Micronian city found themselves stunned. It was a good long minute before anyone was able to speak.

"Get the array up," Rico barked to Bron and Konda. "Lord Breetai needs to be informed of this madness _immediately_!"

The others started to fire up equipment without as much as a word. Shortly, the communications array was up and running and a connection was put through to the main Zentraedi ship still orbiting the Earth.

"My Lord," Rico intoned. "Our worst fears may be confirmed. We may be at war again with the Micronians."

* * *

Over in another dwelling in the same neighborhood, the anger and confusion over the situation that was playing out live on television were felt by the residents.

"We told those fools not to engage the Micronians," Xamdar spat out. "Now the situation is completely out of control."

Pyoto shook his head. "It's also possible that our men there did not go ahead with that rash action and actually followed orders. And knowing Izadu pretty well, he is not one that would act independently."

Quazmin was about to add his input into the discussion, but was interrupted by a humming coming from the communicator on the table in front of the three. He swiftly opened up the device and tapped a button. On the screen came up a grainy picture of Izadu.

 _"My Lord, the Micronians have started attacking us. I don't know for how long we can hold them off."_

"Never mind that, Izadu," Quazmin stated evenly. "Did you or that fool Nadtal authorize that explosion in the Micronian ranks?"

 _"No, my Lord. We did not. We followed your instructions to the letter. Anyone that would have deviated from the course of action you put in place had already been dealt_ _with_."

"Understood. So, it appears that the Micronians may have invented this explosion as an excuse to open hostilities. If it's war the Micronians want, we can definitely supply them with one. Your orders are simple, Izadu. If you and your men do see an opening for a strategic withdrawal, you have my permission to do so. I have a feeling we will need the numbers, so no use in wasting lives needlessly."

 _"As you command, my Lord."_

With that, the communication went to static. Turning to the others, Quazmin bore a look that was a combination of determination and rage. As calmly as possible under the circumstances, he spoke.

"So, it appears we are back at war with the Micronians." He then turned to Pyoto. "Have the men gather at 1800 this evening. We have a lot to discuss."

Xamdar smiled. "Finally, a chance for action."

Quazmin shot over a hard look. "If you didn't remember, we are a little outnumbered at the moment. Having the full weight of Macross Command upon The Frag would be detrimental. For now, we wait and when the opportunity arises, we go forward."

He then turned to Pyoto. "We may also have some friends in, ahem, higher places as well after this. I would have to think even Lord Breetai would not be accepting of this."

Pyoto smiled. "It would depend if this was an ordered attack from Macross Command or if this Colonel Leonard acted on his own. If the orders came from Macross Command, war would be the most likely outcome. If it was an independent action, our friends out in orbit of this miserable little rock would possibly hold the line and not interfere directly. However, there may be some among his fleet that may think otherwise and may also act independently."

Quazmin was about to add in a comment agreeing with Pyoto's outlook, but found himself interrupted by Xamdar after he was glancing at his phone.

"I may have something in the works that could be of use to us and our brothers down in South America very shortly. One of my old Micronian contacts has some information that would be the utmost importance to whatever we are planning." With that, Xamdar pulled up an email that had just arrived from someone he described in prior talks as an "old friend."

Pyoto and Quazmin both smiled at the information that was brought up in front of them.

"Xamdar," Quazmin stated. "You have outdone yourself. I believe this may be able to help us and also have an added benefit of keeping the bulk of the Micronian forces tied up here so they cannot assist their friends."

Pyoto looked at his companion a bit skeptically. "This is all well and good, old friend. However, bringing a Micronian into The Frag after this turn of events or you wandering outside of it may not bode well for one's safety."

"That, my friends, I have covered," Xamdar added with a smile. "The source in question would be someone that most Zentraedi would not have, as they say, a major issue with their presence here. The meeting with my friend is at 1600 this afternoon to get the full file. If there's any concerns regarding his safety, I think we can make some arrangements among the warriors here that he is not to be molested in any way."

Quazmin nodded. "See to this then. If what your contact claims is true, then we may have to let the others on the asteroid know how we will be proceeding."

The three re-focused their attention to the television in front of them and the ongoing streams of information from Buenos Aires.

* * *

At the Santa Isabel Monastery in the Paraguayan Quadrant, Lieutenant Ortega and Cryndor were in the middle of a talk with the leader of the monastic community, a Father Jimenez. The talk consisted of the RDF intelligence officer and his reluctant Zentraedi companion relaying the story of how they ended up on the doorstep of the secluded compound, with the Father just listening and absorbing the information presented.

It was during the conversation that the larger monk that was situated in the office area outside of the office came wandering in somewhat unannounced.

"My grace, I hate to interrupt, but the Holy Father himself is on line three and wishes to speak to you immediately. Something terrible has happened."

Both Ortega and Cryndor noticed the color had drained out of Jimenez's face at this news. Cryndor looked over at Ortega and noticed he had the same look as the man sitting in front of them.

The priest stood up and looked at the three men in the office.

"Thank you, Brother Tuck. My sons, we will have to follow up on this conversation later on. I hope you understand. Brother Tuck will show you back to the cabins."

With a quick nod, the two men stood up and followed the monk out of the office. Within minutes, they were back in the cabin they called home for the time being.

"I don't think it would be large stretch of the imagination that things in Buenos Aires just escalated, Lieutenant?" Cryndor found himself asking.

"I fear you are correct, _amigo_ ," came the response.

* * *

At Macross Command, Rick Hunter sat in his office going over in his head how he was going to explain the events of earlier in the day. _It's not every day you have to explain to your squadron that one of them was actively participating in what would be a textbook example of treason,_ he thought ruefully. _And for what? Just because they wanted to get into the pants of their CO?_

He gazed skyward shaking his head. _Should have seen this from a mile away, but knowing my track record with members of the opposite sex, no wonder I missed the clues,_ he thought with a bit of a smirk. _I mean, how long did it take me to realize things about Lisa?_

The thought pattern was broken quickly by his desk phone ringing. Rick glanced down at the extension. _Sit Room. That can't be good._

"Hunter."

 _"Rick, it's Lisa. Admiral wants you here on the double."_

"Something big?"

 _"The situation in Argentina changed, and not for the better."_

Rick stifled a very vile curse towards Colonel Leonard upon hearing the news. Regaining his composure, he continued. "On my way. Also, get Max, Ben, and Wilcox in on this."

 _"They're all on their way as well."_

"Roger that. See you shortly."

Making his way out into the corridor, he caught a glimpse of one of the monitors showing the MBS feed. Rick could only shake his head at what he saw.

 _And so it begins,_ he thought. _Either it's the RDF vs Zentraedi rematch we all didn't want or the Ol' Meatgrinder's gone full on crazy. Or a mix of both. Regardless, this is going to get uglier before it gets better._

* * *

 _ **A/N** \- It's been a few months since I've updated last. Real life decided to rear its ugly head in a way that was unexpected and not entirely pleasant. Naturally, that took precedence over this little yarn I'm weaving and my muse wisely and understandably decided to take a vacation due to that._

 _So, after re-reading what was in place, I've started picking up where I left off and getting back into the flow._

 ** _In the next installment -_** _The fallout from the raid on San Marcos and the incident within Skull Squadron come to bear. Stay tuned for Chapter 12: **Aftershocks** , the next exciting episode of **Robotech: Shrouds Of Darkness**_


End file.
